Beautiful Stranger
by PlayTheGame
Summary: Stephanie McMahon's marriage is falling apart and she's starting to lose sight of who she really is. One night, she meets a beautiful stranger who just might be what she needs to get her life together and find herself again. AU HHH/Steph.
1. Chapter 1

This is part of a short story contest I'm in at the minute. I'll post the new chapters here as I go along. Reviews are much appreciated as always, thanks!

* * *

**5.07am**

The dull light of early morning shone through the slatted blinds of the room. Inside a ruffled and rumpled bed, two figures lay pressed tightly together, oblivious to the rising sun outside the window. The female of the two began to stir, gradually opening her eyes and letting out a soft moan to clear her throat of that ever familiar dryness that comes with waking up. She adjusted to the darkness then quickly squinted her eyes to block the thin streams of light breaking through the blinds. Suddenly, a soft groan from behind her interrupted the peaceful silence of the room and the previous nights activities quickly came crashing to the forefront of her mind. The strong pair of arms that were wrapped around her waist tightened slightly and the soft hand that was palming her breast flexed, gently squeezing her creamy skin. A breath hitched in her throat at the movement and she closed her eyes, remembering everything that had happened last night - the anger, the fighting and the sadness at the hands of her husband and the passion and pleasure at the hands of another.

* * *

**8 Hours 22 minutes ago**

"Robert this is fucking ridiculous! Will you listen to yourself! For Christ sakes!" Stephanie yelled at her husband, furiously storming away from him and into the living room.

Robert slammed his dinner plate onto the kitchen table and followed hot on her heels. "Don't walk away from me Stephanie, we're not done here," he fumed. He came to stand just in front of her, blocking her exit from the room.

"No, we are done. I'm sick listening to you and your crap."

They had an intense stare down as they stood just in front of the door. Stephanie's eyes bored into those of her husband's, just daring him to keep this thing going.

Robert didn't budge either and stared right back until he recognized that ever familiar defiant glint in his wife's eyes. He knew that no matter how badly he wanted to try and talk, it simply wasn't going to happen. He sarcastically stepped aside and swept his arm across the front of the door. "You wanna leave? Then leave. But we are going to talk about this Stephanie."

Stephanie stormed to the closet in the hall and grabbed her black trench coat. She angrily pulled it on before reaching for her keys and headed straight for the door. "Yes we are but not right now," she whispered to herself as she slammed the door shut and got inside her car. She didn't know where the hell she was going to go but she simply could not be around him anymore. That mere thought used to scare the life out of her but more and more she found herself simply not caring. As she drove away, Robert shook his head and walked back into the living room. Both of them failed to notice the little girl hiding between the banisters on the wide steps. She quickly wiped at her eyes and scampered off to her room hugging her little bear tightly.

* * *

**2 Hours Later**

The smoky bar and equally smoky atmosphere was absolutely perfect for her current mood. She drained the last of her wine and summoned the bar tender, asking for a double vodka and coke. He eyed her curiously as he made her drink and set it on the damp place mat on the dark oak table. She had entered the bar a while ago like a woman on a mission, heading straight for the bar and ordering a drink. As she had sipped at her wine, all the problems in her marriage were mulled over and analysed. It felt like they had been fighting forever and it was becoming harder and harder to remember any of the good times. Except for Jennifer. She was a constant reminder of the love they once shared for each other.

"Once shared," she snorted indignantly taking a pull of her drink and wincing at the strong taste. She glanced at the bar tender who smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"You look like you needed it a little stronger," he offered and for the first time tonight she managed a smile.

"You don't know the half of it," she joked and took another sip, getting used to the strength of the drink. The loud noise of cheering and hooting from a few tables at the back of the bar caused her to spin around and scan the room. She sighed as she saw the group of people laughing and having fun. When was the last time she had done that? They used to go out with friends all the time. Even after Jennifer was born, they still made an effort to go out and spend some time together. But lately they wanted to be nowhere near each other. As she moved to turn back to her original position, she got caught in the powerful stare of a man sitting to her right. His deep hazel eyes were locked onto her and she immediately felt a frisson of energy shoot up her spine. She watched as he downed his drink and stood up, slowly making his way toward her. She held his gaze as he came to stand beside her and swallowed thickly, inhaling his light cologne and feeling his arm brush against hers.

"Can I help you sir?" asked the bar tender as he joined them at the end of the bar.

"Scotch rocks," came the husky reply as he answered the man's question yet never broke their stare. "And for the lady," he continued, the start of a small smile forming on his lips, "a water."

Stephanie raised her eyebrow curiously and tilted her head to the side as the bar tender left to fix their drinks. "Water?" she questioned, getting a little excited at the electricity she could feel growing between them.

"Yes, a water," he answered, finally letting the cheeky grin appear on his face. But just as quickly it was gone. "I've been watching you; a little water will do you no harm."

She scoffed at his remark and turned away from him, smiling at the returning bar tender who set their drinks down and then left them to their devices. "It's rude to make assumptions."

"I'm not assuming anything. Like I said, I've been watching you. If you're not careful, you'll end up getting carted out of here by some fat greasy loser." He pushed the water towards her as he took a gulp of his scotch and had to stop the smile that threatened to break across his face when she pushed it back.

"I don't want your water. It is possible to get hit on by guys that aren't 'fat greasy losers' but are just as bad you know," she answered with an accusatory glare in his direction.

This time her snappy retort was too much and he let out a small yet somehow sinister chuckle. "We both know that's not true," he whispered, sliding closer and letting his body rest against her. She turned her head and met his broad shoulder. Slowly raising it up, she finally came face to face with him and couldn't help but close her eyes as he ever so softly brushed his lips against her own. When she opened them again, his lust filled stare caused her body to throb in places that had been dormant for too long. She hadn't been intimate with Robert for the longest time. But her husband didn't even get an afterthought as the man next to her moved even closer bringing his lips to her ear. His hand came to rest on her thigh and he slowly moved it up her leg with a purpose, heading for one place and one place only.

"You want to get out of here?" he whispered enticingly.

Self-consciously she found herself nodding her head. She let out a soft sigh as his hand connected with its destination. God she hadn't been touched like this in so long. She hadn't felt wanted by her husband in the longest time yet here she was, 5 minutes in the presence of this stranger and she was ready to give him anything he wanted. As she brought her hand to his chest and gently pushed him away, she happened to catch sight of her wedding rings sparkling against the dark black of his shirt. A fleeting feeling of guilt crossed her mind and for a moment, this situation sounded completely wrong. But all it took was a soft caress on the arm and another look into those dark hazel eyes and she was gone. She grabbed her coat and stood up; watching as he placed a $100 bill on the table then grasped her arm and led her out of the bar. Within minutes they were inside a cab and headed for his place and within seconds of getting into the cab they were all over each other. The old cab driver turned his face away in disgust as he caught sight of the two locked in an arduous kiss in his rear view mirror. Stephanie's mind was reeling as he kissed and sucked at her neck. She ran her fingers through his long blonde strands and closed her eyes as they kissed lower and lower, completely oblivious to the disapproving cabbie. Pretty soon, they had arrived at his apartment and had stumbled inside, still joined in a passionate lip lock which reached fever pitch as they arrived in the bedroom.

"Jesus you're beautiful," he whispered as he yanked the tight white blouse over her head and chucked it to the floor. He pressed his lips against hers and almost instantly she opened her mouth, needing to taste as much of him as possible. Her nimble fingers made quick work of his soft black shirt and it too went the direction of the floor. She let out a groan as she ran her hands over the smooth, firm skin of his abs and then moved them lower, feeling for his belt. However she was momentarily stopped as he cupped her behind and lifted her up. He walked over to the bed and lay her down, covering her body with his much larger frame. She rid him of his pants and revelled in the feel of him pressing against her inner thigh. As their lips connected in a torrid kiss and they continued their passionate encounter, Stephanie completely and willingly surrendered herself to this stranger with not a second thought to her husband and the problems that lay with him. After spending most of the night having several rounds of pleasure filled and intense sex, the pair finally drifted off to sleep, locked in a tight embrace, the worries of the waking world long forgotten.

* * *

**6.22am**

The wood creaked underneath her feet as she tiptoed up the winding staircase. As she ascended up the stairs she thought about how she should be feeling right now. She had just left another man's bed and was now sneaking back into her own. She should feel like she had just broken her vows and possibly destroyed her marriage. But she felt nothing, empty. She gently pushed the door to her bedroom open and walked inside. Robert was lying flat on his stomach, his body sprawled all over the bed as usual. She should have felt a pang of guilt upon seeing the man she had betrayed last night but again she felt nothing. Nothing except for the little voice in her head telling her to go back to her beautiful stranger because at least when she was with him, she felt something. She stripped off her clothes and reluctantly climbed into the bed. Robert was a heavy sleeper. He wouldn't know what time she came in at and hell; she didn't give a damn if he did. As she lay there in the darkness, she quickly came to realise that she simply didn't have it in her to fight for their marriage anymore. A few months ago, this realisation would have devastated her. Now, all she could think about was the freedom that lay ahead of her in a life without her husband. But life was never that easy. She would always be tied to Robert and that was through their daughter, their wonderful innocent daughter who was none the wiser about her parent's situation. Somehow Stephanie guessed that Jenny knew that something was going on though. She had to notice the distance between them. Even her family had noticed and they didn't see her as often as she'd like them too. Jenny was with them both every day. She always pitied those women that stayed in their marriage for the sake of their children, thinking that she would never do the same. But it was a whole lot different being in their shoes. A separation would devastate her daughter; there was no doubt about it. But did she really want to live the rest of her life tied to a man she no longer loved? A man she no longer loved.

"Where did we go so wrong?" she whispered, turning onto her side and closing her eyes. She had to go to work in a few hours and lying there analysing everything wasn't going to do her any good. She pulled the blankets a little tighter around her body and tried to get at least an hour's sleep before she had to get up again. But as she drifted into an uneasy slumber, her very awake husband rubbed a weary hand over his face and answered her question.

"I don't know, Steph. I don't know."


	2. Chapter 2

He could hear the sound of laughter coming from the living room as he entered their house. The squeaky voices of the television mixed with his daughter's sweet and innocent laughter brought a smile to his face. It was the only thing that did lately. He quietly pushed open the door and saw both his wife and daughter comfortably sitting on the sofa watching cartoons. Not fully ready to face his wife, he turned and headed up the stairs to change before going back down and heading inside.

"Daddy!" cried the little girl as she jumped from the sofa and ran to his arms. He eagerly picked her up and kissed her hair, looking over her shoulder and watching as Stephanie looked away. They hadn't spoken since last night and somehow he didn't think it was going to get any better. Not when she had pulled a disappearing act on him. He felt his anger build as he thought of where she could have been.

"Daddy, me and mommy are watching SpongeBob. Do you wanna watch it with us?"

He looked into her clear blue eyes and smiled. He glanced at his wife, trying to gauge her reaction yet he couldn't read her face. She wore a blank and uninterested expression. "Sure why not," he answered and moved to sit down on the sofa. When he did, Stephanie finally looked at him and managed a smile for the benefit of her daughter. They sat in silence for a few minutes until their daughter was preoccupied before any words were spoken.

"Where did you go last night? You didn't get in until late" he whispered, turning his head to face her.

Stephanie panicked for a second. She didn't know that he had been awake when she had got in. She quickly said the first thing that came to her head. "I was at my parents."

"And you decided to come home at 6 in the morning?" he asked, his eyebrows raised in a questioning manner.

"I fell asleep and when I woke up I came home. I had to go to work today you know." She turned to look at him and was taken aback by the look on his face. He knew she was lying. They held each other's gaze before she looked away. Right now was not the time or the place to admit that she had cheated on her husband.

Robert knew as soon as she looked away from him that she didn't stay at her parent's last night. The question was, where _did _she stay? "Jennifer honey, would you go to your room for a little while? Mommy and Daddy need to talk about grown up stuff." He smiled down at her but was met with her little frown.

"Are you gonna fight again like you did last night?"

Her question cut through the both of them as they didn't know that she had heard them. Stephanie swallowed the lump in her throat and put on a reassuring smile. "No sweetie, we just need to sort something out. You can come back down when we're finished OK?"

Jennifer looked between her mother and father and put at ease by their reassuring smiles, she hopped off her father's lap and headed to her room. They both waited until they heard the door close before the inevitable war of words began.

"So you stayed at your parents house then?" he said sarcastically, moving away from her on the couch so that they were at opposite ends.

"Yes," came her simple reply and it immediately infuriated him.

"Don't treat me like a fucking idiot, Stephanie. I think I deserve better than that," he fumed.

She saw the deep hurt in his eyes and she did feel sorry for him, but not nearly as much as what she thought she would. To her, her reaction to this whole situation was the final nail in the coffin. Yes she felt bad about what she did. She had broken her vows and had cheated on a man she had promised her life to. But deep down inside of her, she felt somewhat apathetic.

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself?"

"What do you want me to say, Robert?" she all but exploded. Lately all it took was one word from him and she automatically got angry. But there was no need for tact right now. They were having this fight whether they wanted to or not.

He shook his head and stared daggers through her. "I want you to tell me where you were, Stephanie! I want you to tell me if you spread your legs for some bastard last night! That's what I want you to say!" He wasn't expecting the sharp slap across the face that he received as a result of his angered words.

Stephanie stood and glared down at him as he held his stinging cheek. "Don't you ever talk to me like that."

He stood and was met with an intense and angry stare that was reciprocated right back to her. "Why won't you answer my question?"

She felt like telling him the truth but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right. So she didn't. "I can't believe you're actually saying this to me right now."

They stood there, locked in an intense gaze, neither moving, hearts racing and minds whirling around at warp speed. Suddenly he felt guilty. He'd never had reason to question her fidelity before and despite what they were going through, he didn't think she would do that to him. He bowed his head before raising his eyes to hers. "I'm sorry."

She had to strain to hear him but hear him she did. She felt hot tears stinging the back of her eyes. She had guilted him into apologising to her yet he had nothing to apologise for. In fact, it was she who should be saying sorry. She couldn't deal with this right now and she felt her legs leaving the room before her mind had caught up to what they were doing. Robert bowed his head and wiped at the tear threatening to fall down his face. He'd really done it now. He just hoped to God that she would forgive him for accusing her like that. He heard the front door slam shut and this time, he didn't stop the tears from flowing freely down his face. What the hell had he just done?

* * *

Stephanie had been driving in circles for around an hour. In fact, she had been circling a particular block but just didn't have the courage to park the car and go knock on his door. For all she knew, he could have picked up some other woman tonight, just like he had picked her up last night. Hell maybe he wouldn't even remember her. Although something told her that he'd felt the same weird connection between them that she'd felt. Finally pulling up on the side of the road opposite to his apartment block, she took a deep breath and decided to just go for it. God help her but she was drawn to him and she knew deep down that he was the only thing that would make her feel better because he simply made her feel. Walking inside the upscale apartment block, she suddenly realised that she didn't have a clue where to find him. The last time she'd been here she'd been attached to his lips, completely unaware of her surroundings. She caught the eye of the night watchman and hesitantly walked over to him.

"Are you alright there, madam?" he asked, his old but kind features wrinkling slightly with his question.

"Ahhh....yes. Yes I'm fine. I'm actually looking for Paul...." she stopped mid sentence and mentally kicked herself. She didn't even know his last name. God she was going to look like such an idiot right now. "I'm looking for Paul's apartment."

"There are a few Pauls in this apartment block, miss. You're going to have to be a bit more specific," he said gently.

His easygoing and non-judgmental manner put her at ease and she relaxed. "Tall guy, long blond hair, very well built...."

"Ahhh, Mr. Levesque," he nodded and smiled at her, a knowing look coming across his face.

"Yes, I guess that's him. Mr. Levesque."

"Top floor, apartment A is what you're looking for. Would you like me to call up for you?" he offered.

"No! No that's fine. I'll just......surprise him. Thank you." With that, she turned and headed towards the elevator. It took the damn thing forever to reach his floor. She didn't remember it taking this long last night. Although she was pretty occupied to be fair. As the elevator pinged and the door opened, she walked onto the top floor which only seemed to have a few apartments on it and for whatever reason, they were going backwards. She counted them off as she walked further and further down the hall until there was only a right turn left to take. She turned the corner and immediately saw the door.

"A," she said to herself, a little triumphant smile crossing her face. But it quickly disappeared once she reached the door and realised that she would now have to knock it. She took a deep breath and at the same time questioned her sanity before lifting her hand and gently knocking the door. The few seconds she was left waiting felt like hours until finally the door opened and she came face to face with him. His slightly shocked expression did nothing to calm her nerves and all of a sudden, this seemed like a very bad idea.

"Stephanie? What....what are you doing here?" he asked curiously. This was the last person he expected to be standing on the other side of his door.

"I....nothing......never mind.....I have to go....." she turned and went to make a quick exit but stopped when she felt his hand on her arm.

"Wait!" he called after her, reaching for her arm and bringing her to a stop. As her head swung around to face him, unexpectedly he felt his breath catch in his throat. Her natural beauty shone through despite the sad look on her face and he had the over whelming urge to just care for her, something he'd never experienced in his life before. "Come inside," he said softly, manoeuvring his hand into hers and gently tugging her back through the corridor and into his apartment.

Stephanie could barely breathe as she got sucked into his intense gaze. His eyes never left hers, not once. Even when he had sat her down on his sofa and they were engulfed in a weird yet comfortable silence. "I didn't even know your last name. I had to describe you to the watchman," she said quietly in an attempt to break their silence. His little chuckle made her heart jump. Something so simple yet it evoked such emotion from within her. This was wrong on so many levels, she knew that. But why did it feel so damn right? Her thoughts were interrupted by his hand which was outstretched towards her. She looked at it and then at his smiling face before reaching out and taking it, gently shaking it up and down.

"Paul Levesque. I'm 34 years old, I run my own business, I like dogs, I listen to rock music, I'm a complete momma's boy and I like to work out. Very nice to meet you," he said playfully.

She couldn't stop the huge grin from spreading across her face at his words. She looked at the floor before bringing her attention back to him. "Stephanie McMahon. I'm 29 years old, I work in my family's business, I too like dogs, I listen to all types of music and I'm a complete daddy's girl. Oh and I run too!"

They both laughed and reluctantly broke their handshake. As Paul let of her hand, he caught sight of the sparkling diamond adorning her ring finger. He'd seen it last night but never paid any attention to it. Yeah she was married but that had never stopped him before. He wasn't out to destroy marriages but when he saw something that he wanted, he took it no matter what. And besides, it wasn't like she'd asked him to stop. Stephanie saw what he was looking at and immediately felt uncomfortable again.

"So, why are you here then, Stephanie?"

"I really don't know. I guess I just had to get away from my house.....from my....husband." Her words came out slowly, as if she were considering each one before she said it.

"You want to talk about it?" he offered and was surprised to see her head whip around in shock. "What?"

"Forgive me but I just find it a bit weird sitting here talking about my marital problems to my...." her sentence trailed off as she fell into confusion, confusion over what to call him. She didn't know the correct terminology for this type of situation.

"To your.....sordid lover, would that fill in the gap?"

She saw the cheeky smile that appeared on his face but she didn't' find it the least bit funny. "This isn't a joke! I knew this was a mistake coming here," she stood and again tried to make a quick exit and again was stopped but only this time, he had her pressed against the back of his front door, his hands pressed flat against the sturdy wood on either side of her head. He was so damn close and she could smell his wonderful cologne intoxicating her senses.

"That's the second time you've tried to run away from me," he stated, his deep hazel eyes boring a hole into hers.

"I shouldn't have come here," she replied, trying her best not to be affected by his close proximity.

His voice was low as he moved his face even closer so she could feel his breath on her lips. "Then why did you?" he all but whispered.

She held his gaze for a few moments until she was completely sucked in. There was no way she was leaving the apartment now. She couldn't, not when she could feel her need for him growing with every passing second. And she didn't have to wait very long as he ever so softly touched her lips with his own. He pulled back and looked into her eyes and when he saw no hesitancy there, just pure naked lust, he kissed her with much more force. He pushed his body into her, pressing her back against the door as their tongues slid together in a fierce battle for dominance. He grabbed her arms and raised them above her head before gently slamming them back against the tough wood. She moaned as he broke their kiss and moved to her exposed neck, kissing up and down the long column of her throat. He kissed a heated trail up to her ear which he nibbled on for a second or two. "I want you," he groaned into her ear causing every hair on her body to stand on end. He let go of her hands and her arms slid down to their normal position. Her lips were tingling from his kiss and she suddenly realised what he was doing. He was giving her a choice - the choice to leave and go back home or the choice to stay with him. As she gazed into his dark eyes that were clouded over with lust, she knew what choice she would be making. She pushed herself off the door and into his body.

She grabbed his face between her hands and ignored the sparkle coming from her left hand as she pulled his face closer. "Then take me," she whispered against his lips. It was all the invitation he needed as he forcefully pulled her against him and crushed his lips against hers. His tongue quickly stole into her mouth and she responded in kind, eagerly wrapping her legs around his waist when he picked her up and headed for his room.


	3. Chapter 3

Special thanks to **smokin'upoutside**, _dx-nodoubt-dx_, **missbean1997** and _triplehstephmcmahonfan_ for reviewing the last two chapters, it means a lot and I thank you for taking the time to let me know what you think.

* * *

Stephanie gave one last longing glance towards the bed and the man still sleeping inside of it before reluctantly leaving the bedroom. She walked slowly towards the front door of his apartment and before she knew it, she was back in her car and ready to head home. Home. She didn't know where that was anymore. Hell, she didn't even know who _she_ was anymore. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would cheat on her husband and be so.....so....apathetic towards it. She knew it was wrong but somehow, in her mind, it couldn't be wrong. Not when the feelings and emotions that another man evoked from her felt so damn real. He made her feel special, like she was the only woman in the world that he wanted to be with.

"Stop it, Stephanie," she scolded herself. He didn't want to be with her. She was damaged goods. Yes, he very clearly knew she was married but he didn't know about Jennifer. As her thoughts turned to her daughter she felt an overwhelming need to cry. God, she just didn't know herself anymore, didn't know what type of mother she was becoming. Two nights in a row she had run off into the night seeking solace from a stranger instead of trying to work things out with Robert. But she didn't want to. The fact that she had gone back to Paul told her that and confirmed it more than ever. If she really wanted to make it work with her husband she would have stayed and tried. Instead she did exactly what he accused her of. She'd run and spread her legs for the first man that took an interest. She felt her stomach lurch at that thought and didn't even bother trying to stop the tears spilling down her cheeks. And so she cried. She cried for herself, for her husband, for her daughter and for her betrayal of their marriage. She must have sat there and cried for a good half hour until there was a light tap on the car window. She quickly wiped at her eyes and came across a police officer standing on the other side. She rolled down the window and was met with a pair of concerned blue eyes.

"Are you OK miss? You've been sitting in your car for a good while now and well, that's not the smartest thing to be doing at this time of night," he said, his thick New York accent coming through.

She nodded her head and managed a smile. "I'm fine officer. I'm just having some personal problems that's all. I think I've got it out of my system now though."

"Well alright. Safe home lady," he tipped his hat and stepped away from the car. Stephanie started it up and made for her house. Traffic was minimal at this hour and within no time she was parked and on her way inside.

"Déjà vu," she said to herself as she tiptoed up the stairs. Only this time she was much earlier than last night. She poked her bedroom door open and was surprised to see that Robert wasn't there. She glanced at the digital clock on the bed side table. The glaring red numbers told her it was 01.54 in the morning. A fleeting feeling of panic swept through her body and she frantically raced to her daughter's bedroom. Her heart returned to its regular speed when she saw the outline of her little frame underneath the covers. She walked into the room and placed a gentle kiss on her head, pulling the covers up around her before leaving her in peace. Her attention then turned to the whereabouts of her husband. And she didn't have to look far for as soon as she left her daughter's room, she met Robert at the top of the staircase. He looked terrible and she felt a tug on her heart strings. Jesus she felt conflicted beyond belief.

"Stephanie," he called softly, his voice wavering slightly. "Come here," he motioned with his hand and walked to their bedroom. She followed to find him sitting on the bed staring at the ground. She sat beside him and immediately smelled the alcohol coming from him.

"Christ Robert. You smell like a brewery," she turned her nose up at the stench.

"Stephanie hear me out, please?" he asked, dropping to his knees on the floor in front of her. He took her hands into his and his glazed over eyes stared at her. He didn't give her a chance to answer before he began. "Steph I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry for what I said to you earlier today. I.....I know things have been strained between us but.....but I had no right to say that to you and I'm sorry."

"Robert...." she tried to intervene but it was for selfish reasons. She couldn't sit here and have him apologize to her like this. Not after what she'd done. But he was having none of it and continued anyway.

"No Steph, I need to say this. I don't know what's been happening between us but I hate it. I hate that I'm fighting with you all the time. I love you, you're my wife and I want to fix our marriage because......I just can't face losing you." With his final words he practically broke down in front of her, laying his head in her lap and trying furiously to brush back the tears quickly falling down his cheeks.

Stephanie felt like the biggest bitch in the world. What kind of person was she? She had reduced her husband to this, to a quivering drunken wreck. Suddenly she couldn't hold back her tears either and just like in the car, she cried. "Robert don't.....don't cry, please I....." she hiccoughed and raised his head. His eyes looked so sad and it just broke her heart. "You have nothing to be sorry for. We're both to blame here."

"I want to make this work, Steph. I want things to go back to the way they were before.....this," he stated, gripping her hands and straightening up to look her in the eyes. "Will you work with me? Let's just start over, babe, a clean slate."

"Ok," the words were out of her mouth before she even had a chance to think. What the hell was she doing? A few hours ago she was convinced her marriage was over. Now she was committing to making things work.

"Thank God," he whispered and she saw the smile that appeared on his face. It was the first time she'd seen him smile in a long time and he looked genuinely happy. Suddenly, he hopped to his feet looking strangely sober. "Come to bed with me," he asked, his hand outstretched for her to take.

Stephanie swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn't deny him this and she owed him to at least try. She smiled at him and took his hand, allowing him to pull her up and into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and wiped at the tear that escaped from her glossy eyes. "I love you," she heard him whisper into her hair. She pulled back and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, ignoring the taste of alcohol that came from them. "I love you too," she choked out and buried her head in his neck. They stood locked in a tight embrace until he finally broke away and motioned for the bed. Stephanie stripped down to her underwear and got inside. For the first time in months, she felt him cuddle into her back and wrap his arms around her.

"We'll get through this, Steph. Trust me, we'll get through this," he whispered into her hair before drifting into his first peaceful slumber in a long time. However, he failed to notice the tears flowing freely down his wife's face. Stephanie lay there feeling like the most horrible person in the world. She had cheated on him, twice, yet had guilted him into apologising to her and now she had promised to work on things. She really didn't know herself anymore. Who was she and what the hell was she doing? And why, when she was wrapped tightly in her husband's embrace was she wishing she were with somebody else?

* * *

Paul covered his face with his hand to block out the early morning light. He groggily reached out to the other side of the bed with his other hand but was disappointed to find that it met nothing. He rolled on to his side and sighed. She'd left. Again. Christ she was worse than him when it came to a hit and run. He plopped back against the soft white pillows and ran his hands over his face.

"Stephanie McMahon why do you affect me so?" he said to himself. He could never remember being so hung up on a woman before. Sure he'd met up with some of his ladies more than once but this was different. He'd never woken up to find himself disappointed that she'd left even though he was the one that usually did the leaving. As he lay there, his thoughts turned to last night and how incredible it had been. Maybe now he knew why he couldn't get her off his mind. She brought out something from deep inside of him. He didn't know what it was but only she could do it. It was almost primal, like he couldn't get enough of her.

"Shit," he cursed and fully sat up in the bed. He looked at the empty space where she had lay just hours before and quickly made up his mind. He wanted her plain and simple and what Paul Levesque wanted, Paul Levesque got.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the delay between updates but I made up for it with an extra long chapter for you all this time. Thanks for the reviews guys, keep them coming!!. Just so you know, there's a HUGE smut warning for this chapter lol. You've been warned!

* * *

Paul stared out his large office window, watching as thousands of tiny little specks shuffled around on the street some hundred stories below. The sky had changed from a musky blue to the deep and dark colour of the night in a matter of minutes although he didn't see it happen. Instead his mind was focused on one thing and one thing only. He thumped his hand against the glass in frustration. He hadn't heard from her in five days. The thought of that made him shake his head in disbelief. He turned to look at the mountain of work on his desk and his face turned into a scowl. If he hadn't been so caught up in work then he would have pursued her without a doubt. But the fact that she hadn't tried to contact him pissed him off to no end. He'd never had to chase after a woman before, especially not one that he wanted so badly. He shifted uncomfortably and started pacing around the room when he felt his groin begin to stir. No woman had ever affected him as much as she did and he wasn't quite sure that he liked it. But one thing that he knew for sure was that he was going to go crazy if he didn't get to touch her or taste her again. With a new found determination, he quickly flung a few files into his briefcase, grabbed his suit jacket and swiftly made his way out of the office.

"Mr. Levesque, Mr. Johnson called and he wants to......." started Jane but she was rudely cut off.

Paul lifted his hand to his secretary indicating for her to stop. "Tell me in the morning, Jane. I've got something far more important to attend to this evening."

Jane made a face as he headed towards the elevators with a snarl on his face. Her boss's moods were infamous in their office and he seemed to be in quite the mood right now. She felt sorry for whoever was going to be on the receiving end of this one.

The long elevator ride seemed to take extra long this time and Paul impatiently tapped his foot against the floor. Finally the door pinged open at the Basement level and he made a beeline for his car. As soon as he was inside, he whipped out his cell phone and dialled a number he kept on hand for occasions just like this.

"Mr. Levesque, it's always good to hear from you. What do you need this time, sir?" said the voice on the other end of the line.

"I need you to locate somebody for me, Jack," he said as he started up his expensive black Mercedes Benz and watched as the lights on the exquisite looking dashboard came to life.

"What's the name?"

"Stephanie McMahon." Again he felt his groin twitch at the mention of her name. Jesus he had to have her and it needed to be right now. He squirmed in his seat and put the car into reverse and waited. He waited for a few seconds longer until his impatience got the better of him. "Hurry it up, Jack. I don't have all day." He pulled at the collar of his shirt and loosened his blue silk tie. His demand was met with silence and he was just about to bark another order when he finally got some news.

"Ok, sir. I've got four addresses here. Work, home, second home and family home. What one do you need?"

Paul glanced at the clock and sighed. 7:23. Not everybody was a workaholic like him and she was more than likely at home by now. Suddenly a plan sprung to mind. "What does she work as, Jack?"

"McMahon Entertainment Incorporated. It's a family run business that specialises in entertainment products, television shows and movies. You might have heard of WWE – World Wide Entertainment. That's them," informed Jack.

Paul nodded as he mulled things over in his head. Yes he'd heard of WWE before. Hell, his own company had done several dealings with them in the past. He finally came to a decision. "What's the office number and address?" He entered the address into his sat nav system and memorised the number before hanging up and practically shooting out of the garage and onto the busy street. He smiled almost wickedly as he called the office number.

"WWE offices, how may I help you?" said a friendly voice.

"Hi, can I get a direct line to Stephanie McMahon's office please?" A second or two later and the phone rang again leading him to another secretary.

"Stephanie McMahon's office," came the professional yet feminine voice but it wasn't her. He'd memorised the sound of her voice. He remembered every sigh and every moan and they were permanently engrained in his mind.

"I'd like to make an appointment to see Mrs. McMahon please," he asked with a smile on his face. He easily breezed through the minimal traffic as he drove towards her office block. It wasn't that far away from his own.

"I'm sorry sir, Mrs. McMahon is finishing up for the night. She might be able to fit you in tomorrow."

Oh she'd fit him in alright and it most certainly would not be tomorrow. "Is she still there?"

"Yes she is."

"Tell her it's very important that she sees me tonight," he said nonchalantly. Fucking secretaries and their tight lipped answers.

"And may I ask who's calling?"

Paul chuckled at the obvious disdain in the woman's voice but he could care less if he pissed her off. "Tell her it's Mr. O'Connor." He chuckled again when he was put on hold. "I wonder if she'll get it," he said to himself. O'Connor's was the bar that they'd met in. Somehow he felt that it would go right over her head. He didn't mind though. It would make for a nice surprise when he showed up at her door.

"Mrs. McMahon says that she can see you now if it's quick. Are you nearby?"

Paul smiled in victory. "I'm five minutes away. Thank you." He hung up the phone and put his foot on the gas.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to see this guy? He sounded like such an asshole," commented Diane as she looked at her boss. Stephanie had had her coat on and was just about ready to go when the call had come through. "And aren't you supposed to be meeting Robert tonight? I thought you guys were going out for dinner?"

Stephanie sighed as she sat on the edge of Diane's desk. "Yes we are. But I called him and told him I'd be another hour or so. I'll just see what this guy wants and if it takes more than that then he can come back tomorrow. What did you say his name was again?"

"O'Connor," replied Diane as she shuffled some files about on her desk.

"O'Connor? Hmmmm, I don't think I know any O'Connor's. I wonder what he wants," Stephanie said almost to herself as she stared off into space.

"Well he sounded like an asshole over the phone. I think I'll stay here until he leaves just to make sure you're OK."

Stephanie laughed as she stood up and walked to her office. "Thanks Diane but I think I can handle him. Just look at who I have for a father!" Both women laughed before Stephanie walked inside and took off her coat. She decided that she may as well do something productive while she waited for this O'Connor guy to arrive. Hopefully this meeting would be over quickly and she wouldn't have to keep her husband waiting too long. He didn't sound very happy when she called him earlier. Things had been so much better between them since last week although she couldn't say that she was fully satisfied. On more than a few occasions her mind had drifted to someone else and it pained her to know that it was over between them. Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called as she got to her feet. But she practically fell back down into her seat when she saw who walked through the door. "Wha.....what are you doing here?" she managed to get out. Never in a million years did she expect him to come strolling through her door.

"Surprised?" he said with grin as he subtly locked the door. He walked until he was standing opposite her with only the hard wooden desk separating them.

Stephanie closed her eyes as a million different emotions ran through her body. Excitement, shock, surprise and anger. What the hell was he thinking showing up at her office? "What the hell are you doing? You can't just show up here '_Mr. O'Connor'_," she fumed, her face growing redder by the second. Suddenly it hit her. O' Connor. O' Connor's. The bar. His apartment. His bedroom. She hung her head and ignored the little voice inside telling her how stupid she was. "That's a nice little trick you pulled with the name by the way. Very fucking funny."

"I thought you'd like that," he said. His grin still in place. It was taking everything he had not to just walk round the desk and take her. That being said, he was enjoying watching her get rattled. She looked incredibly sexy when she was pissed off.

"How did you find me?" she said seriously, not giving in to his little games.

"I'm a pretty powerful guy, Stephanie. I have my sources," he replied, becoming very serious just like her. "When I want to know something, I'll make sure that I know it. And when I want to have something, I'll take it."

His eyes sparkled dangerously and she felt her stomach curl at his words. Half of her wanted to smack him across the face. The other half wanted him to take her right now in her office. God what the hell was wrong with her? She was supposed to be meeting her husband in an hour but instead she was thinking about screwing another man on her desk. She felt a slow burning fire build within her and no matter how badly she tried to fight it, she just couldn't resist giving into him. "And what exactly is it that you want?" her voice faltered slightly as she spoke. This was a dangerous game she was playing here, one which she knew she wouldn't be able to get out of if it went too far. She gulped as he walked around the desk and stood right behind her. He stepped in close, making sure to press his body against her as he pulled her hair behind her ear.

"I think you know," he all but whispered into her ear before he pressed an enticing kiss to the base of her throat. She instinctively turned her head to the side, giving him further access to her neck and he willingly took it, burying his face into her soft skin and pressing tiny little kisses up and down the column of her throat. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her back into him, causing her to moan when she felt the hardness pressing against her lower back. He began to move his kisses to her jaw and before she knew it, his lips were pressed tightly against hers. Her legs turned to jelly and she relaxed into him, allowing his strong arm to wrap around her waist and pull her close. She opened her mouth to him and willingly accepted his tongue as it mingled with her own. His right hand travelled from her waist to her breast which he squeezed gently through her blouse while his left softly gripped her chin and turned her head, enabling him to kiss her more deeply. She reached back and wrapped her arm around his neck while subconsciously starting to grind back into him. He responded in kind and groaned into her mouth. He felt so damn good. So good that she couldn't think, she couldn't breathe. A few seconds passed before she finally caught hold of her senses. She broke their kiss and took a step forward, breaking their embrace.

"I can't do this," she breathed heavily, still trying to catch her breath after their heated exchange. She stared right ahead, knowing full well that if she turned around and actually looked into his eyes that she would be a goner.

"Why not?" he asked as he moved back in behind her, resting his hands on her hips and nipping at her neck.

"I just can't! I'm meeting my husband........" she stopped at the loud scoff she heard from behind her.

"Your husband, huh?" He felt his anger getting the better of him. Why the fuck was she thinking about her husband when she was here with him? He didn't like coming second best, not one bit.

"Yes, my husband," she replied as she finally turned around to face him. She ignored the desire pooling in the pit of her stomach when she saw him. He looked incredible in his light grey suit and white shirt. His hair fell softly around his shoulders and behind his pissed off expression she could see the naked lust in his deep hazel eyes. She was too blinded by shock to notice any of this when he'd entered her office. Maybe she would have had the sense to chuck him out if she had.

"If your husband was so important you wouldn't have let me fuck you twice now would you?" he asked bitterly. He saw her soft features harden and silently cursed himself. Maybe he'd gone a bit too far this time.

"You bastard! You don't know anything about me so don't stand there and act like you do," she fumed, planting her feet to the ground and holding her hand to her sides. She was hard pressed not to slap him across the face for coming off with that. Even if part of it was true.

He laughed sarcastically as he shook his head. "I may not know much. But I do know that you like it that extra little bit rougher, don't you, Steph? Is that why you came back for more, huh? Your dear old husband couldn't give it to you hard the way you like it?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth she reared back and slapped him hard and fast across the face. He immediately whipped his head back and stared a hole right through her. She could see the red hand print quickly beginning to form on his cheek but that didn't faze her. What did was the sheer wild look in his eyes. For a few seconds they just stood there, the air around them so thick with tension you could cut it with a knife. Stephanie could feel her body boiling and it was ready to explode. Paul felt exactly the same and before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed the back of her head and kissed her fiercely. His kiss was so strong and passionate that it fought down any measure of resistance from her and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face as close to hers as possible. She bit down hard on his bottom lip before sucking the pain away. He groaned and forcefully pushed her back against the desk before quickly slipping his tongue inside her mouth. He kissed her hard and deep, their tongues winding together over and over. He didn't know what had come over him but that slap had awoken something. He'd never felt such an aching need for somebody in his life. Stephanie sighed as she ran her hands up and down the lapel of his suit jacket before pushing it off his shoulders and onto the floor. She started to work on the buttons of his shirt but she just had to stop and relish the feelings he was creating inside of her. She'd never been kissed like this before. She could feel his need for her every time his tongue crashed against her own. A few seconds later and she reluctantly broke their kiss and panted heavily. Her breath was stuck in her throat. She lifted her gaze from the smooth skin of his chest to his eyes and swallowed hard at the intensity she saw there. His hands gripped her hips and he lifted her onto the desk. She pushed some papers out of the way and opened her legs, inviting him to come closer. He stepped between them and ran his hands up and down her smooth thighs. They pushed her skirt up her legs until it was bunched around her waist. She sat there and watched him as he touched her, his hands burning into her skin everywhere they went. His lips melded themselves to hers once again and she went back to work on his shirt, finally opening all the buttons. She left it on him but pushed it open so that she could run her hands across the firm muscles of his chest and abdomen. He sighed into her mouth as her hands reached the waistband of his pants. She quickly undid the buckle and opened the button. The sound of his zipper being pulled down mixed with their heavy breaths was the only sound in the room. Before she could go any further, he broke away from her and looked her right in the eye.

"You want to go meet your husband now?" he asked huskily. For whatever reason, he couldn't go on without hearing her say that she wanted him. He needed to know that she wanted to be here with him instead of with her husband.

For the millionth time that night, Stephanie felt a surge of anger rush through her body. Why was he doing this? Why was he asking her this now of all times? She'd given herself to him yet it still wasn't good enough. "What do you want from me?"

"I want to know that you want this as much as I do. I want to know that this isn't just one-sided on my end." His eyes burned hers as he placed a hand on either side of her hips on the desk and leaned in close to her.

Stephanie closed her eyes. It wasn't good enough that she was physically cheating on Robert. Now he wanted her to come out and say it. By acknowledging that she wanted him she was acknowledging her infidelity to her husband. When she opened her eyes and looked into his, she felt her stomach lurch at the almost evil looking glint in his dark eyes. What type of person would wish this on somebody else? All of a sudden she became repulsed by him and pushed him away. She got off the desk and stood. "Get out," she said simply.

"What?"

"I said get out! I don't want you here now go!"

"No," he said, defiantly standing his ground.

Stephanie glared at him in rage. She couldn't believe the audacity of him to act like this after what he'd said to her. "Get the hell out of here or I'll call security," she almost yelled at him, her voice icy cold.

"Are you angry with me?"

She felt like laughing in his face and she would have if she wasn't so damn pissed off. "You have no fucking idea. Now get the fuck out of my office!" Her icy demeanour almost shattered when he stepped in close to her but she stood her ground and refused to give in to him.

He moved his face so that their foreheads were touching. "Hit me," he said, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"What?" She stared at him in confusion. If she wasn't convinced before she sure as hell was now. He was crazy.

"Hit me," he repeated, moving his body so close to her that she became pressed up against the desk again. "Go on. I know you want to do it. Hit me."

Suddenly she gave him a hard shove. A somewhat twisted smile came over his face as he gently shoved her back. It seemed to infuriate her as she shoved him again and gave him another hard slap across the face. His little game had descended into a struggle between the two with Stephanie trying her hardest to actually inflict pain while he stood there and practically laughed in her face. Stephanie felt an uncontrollable surge of energy and emotion well up within her body and she was sure he saw it too for he immediately pushed her back against the desk and kissed her hard, his tongue stealing into her mouth. She feebly tried to bat him away but it was futile. The minute his lips had touched hers she knew she had to have him. The desperation was evident in them both as Paul quickly turned her around. He went straight back to her lips and groaned as she bit down on his lip while she ground her ass into the hard heat between his legs. She bent over her desk and hiked her skirt up around her waist in anticipation. He quickly pushed his pants and boxers down his legs and sighed as he was finally freed from his clothed prison. He grabbed her hips and pushed into her, relishing the feel of her pressed against the most sensitive part of his body. He ground into her and leaned over her back, clutching her chin in his hand and turning her face. His tongue stole into her mouth as he squeezed both her breasts through her blouse. He practically ripped the buttons open before pulling her heaving breasts out of the black lace. His fingers flicked over her hard nipples, stiffening them even further if possible. But as she thrust her ass into him, all his attention quickly became focused on achieving the one thing that he'd been waiting so damn long for. He broke their kiss and his hands moved to her hips. She placed her hands palm flat against the desk and didn't try to stop the loud moan that escaped her as he slowly thrust inside her hot wet heat.

"Jesus......Oh God.....Paul," she whined breathlessly as he gently pulled out before swiftly thrusting back in. She grabbed at the nearest piece of paper she could reach and crumpled it into a ball, the pleasure of finally having him inside her almost too much to bear. He didn't waste any time and fell into a fast rhythm, roughly pumping into her over and over. His knuckles turned white as he squeezed her hips and continued their frantic pace.

"You feel so fucking good," he growled into her ear. She turned her head and caught his lips in a reckless kiss. As he pulled away, her tongue flicked out to lick at his lips and she ground back against him as hard as she could. "Fuck," he groaned as she almost unmanned him right then and there. He pulled almost all the way out of her then slammed right back in hard and fast.

"Yes!" she cried helplessly, every single fibre of her being awash in pleasure. "Don't stop.........Oh God.........don't stop," she panted as he continued his relentless thrusting. It all became too much for her and she shuddered, feeling the beginnings of her climax building deep in the pit of her stomach.

He felt her walls clenching around him and knew she was close. He began thrusting as hard and fast as he could. In the back of his mind he thought that he might be hurting her but if he was, she certainly wasn't showing it. Instead she was grinding back into him and milking him for all he was worth. "Christ Stephanie," he moaned into her ear as his stomach tightened. His release was imminent. He pressed his chest into her back and covered her hands which were placed flat on the desk with his. She gripped his fingers tightly and relished the feeling of his entire body pressed so tightly to hers. She cried out as her climax engulfed her, sending her mind into space and her body into a delightful series of pleasure filled shudders. Just then he exploded inside of her with a heavy groan, finally achieving the release he'd been craving for the past week. He fell against her back, completely spent from their intense encounter. He nuzzled his face into her neck and squeezed her fingers.

"Jesus," she whispered as she turned her head and kissed him lazily. There was a slight chill in the room but she didn't feel it, not with his body covering her the way that it was. Releasing his grip on her hands, he wrapped them around her waist and pulled her to a standing position in front of him. Stephanie closed her eyes as she tried to regain her breath. That was without a doubt, the most incredible thing she'd ever experienced in her life. They were silent, both too caught up in what they had just shared.

"I guess you should get going," he said softly, releasing his grip on her. He stepped back and pulled his boxers and pants back up.

She turned around and watched as he worked on the belt. A quiet laugh escaped her lips as she looked at the state of him. His shirt was open and looked haphazardly thrown on while his silk blue tie was loosely hanging around his neck. "Look at you," she said as she stepped towards him and began buttoning up his shirt. For whatever reason, the previous anger and disgust she had felt towards him had disappeared. Whether she liked it or not, something had changed between them even if she didn't know what it was. She patted his chest when she was done and looked into his eyes when he lifted her chin.

"Don't be afraid to stop by. Anytime you want, I'll be there." He gave a small smile before picking his suit jacket up off the floor. He pressed his lips to hers in a gentle and sweet kiss, the complete opposite of what his kisses had been just moments before. "Bye."

And then he was gone. Stephanie stared at the door for a few seconds before glancing around the room. She looked at her desk and shook her head. The once neat looking surface area was a mess. Papers were flung everywhere and some were crumpled into balls. Her pen box was nowhere to be seen and her paper weight was teetering on the edge. But there was one thing that did not move at all and it was staring her right in the face. She gulped as she lifted the photo frame and saw her husband's smiling face staring back.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** - Hey would you look at that, I finally updated this one!! I hope you guys haven't lost interest. I know it's different but I think I have my muse back in full force. I actually have half the next chapter written up so you can expect another update pretty soon. Thanks for your feedback and please, leave some if you can.

* * *

Stephanie looked around the busy restaurant in a fluster. She couldn't believe what had happened not even twenty minutes ago. She quickly shook that thought from her head and glanced around looking for her husband. Her heart caught in her throat when she saw Robert smile at her from the bar. She managed a small smile of her own as she approached him.

"You certainly took your time," he joked, reaching to take her coat. He pecked her cheek. "They're holding the table for us though. I hope you're hungry."

"Starved," she lied. Her stomach was doing somersaults with nerves. There was no way she would be able to eat, not in this state.

"So who was keeping you at the office so late?" he asked over his shoulder as he motioned to the waitress who promptly took them to their seats.

A huge lump formed at the back of her throat and she fought hard to swallow it down. "Oh, it was just............some new.......client. A new client," she managed to get out hoping to God she sounded convincing. "Dad wants us to make a good impression on the guy so I thought I would stay late to accommodate him."

Robert took her hand across the table and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Well I'm sure you wooed the socks off him," he said with a smile. If only he knew.

She smiled sheepishly and he looked at her a little strangely. Thankfully the waitress returned to take their order.

"So, I've been doing some thinking," he began when they were left alone. "And I think we should get away for a few days. What do you think?"

"What about Jenny?" she asked in surprise. That was the last thing she had been expecting him to say.

"We can take her with us or leave her with one of our parents. I don't mind. But I really think we need to spend some time away from everything so we can connect again." He stared into her eyes deeply. "I've missed you. I miss the way we used to be." When he didn't get any reaction from her a mixture of anger and confusion began to cross his face. "And you don't seem thrilled by this at all."

Stephanie unwittingly gulped. The look on his face made her feel even worse about what she was about to say. "I want to connect with you too, Robert. But I don't think rushing off and hiding away somewhere is going to fix this thing between us. We need to learn how to cope in the real world otherwise this is pointless." That came out much better than expected. In fact, anything she said would sound better than the reason running through her head right now. I don't want to leave because I don't want to miss my chance to fuck another man behind your back. God she was such a terrible person. His expression remained unchanged until finally she saw a spark of determination flash in his eyes.

"Fine. We'll do this whatever way you feel is best. I just don't want to lose you, Steph. I love you." He lifted her hand to his mouth and gently kissed her fingers.

She closed her eyes in an attempt to hide her true response. The last pair of lips to touch her body had been Paul's. And he had done a lot more than that. She felt her body tingle at the thought. With just the slightest touch he had her in knots. That's why she knew deep down that no matter how many times she told him to leave her office, it wasn't what she truly wanted from him. As a matter of fact, she wanted him to stay and do exactly what he did. But she wasn't expecting the intensity or aggression of his actions to get to her so much. Nor the feelings she experienced throughout the whole encounter. He infuriated her. Infuriated her to the point where she actually wanted to hurt him. And then in the blink of an eye he turned her anger into an unbridled passion. She'd never felt that before in her life, not even with the man sitting across the table from her and it scared her. It scared her a hell of a lot more than she was willing to admit. How much longer could this thing between them go on being just about sex? Something had to give. She prayed to God it wasn't her marriage however foolish that may be.

"Steph?"

"Stephanie!"

She snapped out of her thoughts and opened her eyes, smiling as warmly as she could. "I love you too, Robert." Was that a lie? She didn't know anymore.

He kissed her fingers again before placing them back down on the table. "What were you thinking about just then? You went into a little world of your own there," he chuckled.

Stephanie laughed nervously. "I was just thinking that instead of getting away somewhere, that how about we just lock ourselves away with Jenny over the weekend. We can just stay in the house and not do a damn thing," she covered. Good God if he ever found out what she had been really thinking. She didn't know what he would do or how he would react. Hopefully she'd never have to find out.

A genuine smile crossed his face as his eyes twinkled. "That sounds perfect. I'd love nothing more than to spend a few days with my girls."

* * *

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Huge smiles encompassed the faces of both parents as their daughter ran towards them in delight. She hopped into her father's outstretched arms and plied him with kisses before doing the same to her mother. Linda shut the door and smiled.

"Did you have fun with grandma and grandpa?" asked Robert as he pinched his daughter's cheek.

"Uh-huh. Did you have fun at dinner?" replied Jenny with a question of her own.

"Yes we did sweetheart," said Stephanie, reaching over and taking her into her arms. "Come on and let's get your things so we can go home. She walked off leaving Robert and Linda alone.

Despite the fact that Stephanie wasn't telling her anything, Linda knew that something was going on with them. The closeness they used to share was gone. Vince had mentioned that she had been spending a lot of time at the office recently. That was her routine. She had been doing it ever since she was little. When the going got tough, Stephanie buried herself in work. "I bet it was nice for the two of you to get out for a while what with all this work Stephanie's been doing recently," she commented casually. She wasn't fishing but any piece of information she could get she would take. Robert was a very guarded man. Some would call him cold if they didn't know him personally. But she did. He had been married to her daughter for almost four years and had been with her for six.

He smiled at his mother-in-law as she led him into the vast living room. He could hear Stephanie and Jenny in the kitchen. "Yeah, she's been working a lot recently. She was even late tonight because of some new big shot client. She said that Vince wanted the company to make a good impression on the guy so she stayed a little late to meet with him."

"Oh," Linda replied curiously. "I wonder who the new client is. Vince never tells me anything," she laughed, effectively masking her suspicions. She knew for a fact that there was no new client because Vince had specifically told her that business was slow at the minute. Any mere rumblings about a new big shot client would have caused him to come spilling everything to her. He always did caught up in the excitement of a new contract.

"Neither does Stephanie. The two of them are definitely cut from the same cloth. She even had to stay over here one night last week, remember?" Robert said with a chuckle. Just then Stephanie walked into the living room with Jenny in tow. He smiled at his family, watching as they said their goodbye's to Linda before he took a hand each and led them out to the car.

Linda stood at the door and waved until the car was out of sight. She gently closed it over with a frown on her face. Something was definitely going on with her daughter. She hadn't stayed here last week that much was for sure. But if she wasn't here then where was she and why was she lying to her husband? Not to mention the lies about this new client. Maybe it had slipped her husband's mind but she was doubtful. Vince never failed to keep her informed of the goings on of the family business. Even though she stopped working a few years back she still had an interest. This whole thing left her feeling very unsettled and the first chance she got she had every intention of asking Stephanie what was going on. If not because of what she had learned tonight then because of what her granddaughter had let slip while they had been watching cartoons. She wanted to know why her mom and dad had to fight all the time. That had set the warning signals off in her head. The events of tonight had only confirmed them.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N** - Smut alert. You've been warned!

* * *

"Can we watch The Lion King?"

"Again?"

"Yeah, yeah! It's my favourite!"

Stephanie looked at her daughter with an amused smile. "I don't mind. But you'll have to see if daddy wants to watch it again."

Jenny immediately jumped onto her father's lap. "Please, daddy!"

"Alright we'll watch it again," replied Robert, settling her onto his knee. "But afterwards I want to eat some dinner. Daddy's hungry!"

Stephanie watched them for a second, smiling as Jenny quickly ran towards her collection of DVD's beside the TV and plucked out her movie of choice. They had seen The Lion King so many times she could practically cite it word for word. But it was worth it just to see the happiness on her daughters face. Her reverie was broken by the loud ringing of a cell phone. She looked at her husband for a second before she realised it was hers.

"I thought we said no cell phones, Steph," he whined with a pout.

"Sorry!" she called over her shoulder as she hurried to the kitchen. She spied the phone spinning around on the kitchen table. The ringing had only intensified as she got closer and she quickly snatched it up and pressed it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Can you talk?"

Her heart unwittingly flipped in her chest. It was him. "Wha.......what are you doing........calling me like this? And how the hell did you get my number?"

He scoffed slightly. "I found out where your offices are. I don't think it would be much of a stretch to get your cell number."

"What do you want?" She asked, already feeling the myriad of emotions welling up inside of her that she seemed to get every time they spoke.

"Are we going to play this game again? You know you want to talk to me as much as I do."

She ran a hand through her hair absolutely hating the fact that he was right. Her body was responding to his voice way more than she wanted it to. "It's Sunday. I'm spending time with my family. Can't you at least wait until tomorrow before you start to bug me?"

Paul laughed out loud at her attempt at playing coy. "Look, I don't have time to go in circles. You haven't called, Steph. And I.........."

"That's because unlike you, I don't go around searching for people's numbers or address's," she interrupted.

"Why don't you come over?"

This time it was her turn to laugh. "What? Just because you called you expect me to come running?"

"No. I don't expect anything from you other than the obvious."

"The obvious?"

"Do you want me to spell it out for you? Actually, why don't you come over and I'd be more than happy to show you"

Her stomach turned in disgust. His arrogance repulsed yet attracted her all at the same time. How could he be so nonchalant about their.....relationship? Especially after what had happened between them in her office? Despite what she told herself, she knew that it had changed things between them. He had been so forceful before and then so gentle afterwards. She didn't know what to make of it. She didn't know what to make of him. And why the hell was she even talking to him right now? Robert and Jenny were waiting for her. "I've got to go."

"Wait!" he said a little too quickly. "Please. I really want to see you. I.......I've been thinking about you all weekend."

The sincerity in his voice shook her. Damn him. "I really can't. I'm in the middle of something right now. I'm sorry." She sighed and hung up before she lost her nerve. Any longer and she would have been over at his place in a heartbeat. But if that's what she wanted then why didn't she just go?

"MOMMY! Hurry it's gonna start!"

That was her reason right there. Her eyes lingered on the phone for a few seconds before she walked back into the living room and sat down on the sofa.

"Who was that?" asked Robert as she settled down beside him. Jenny clambered in between the pair and snuggled in, her attention already on the TV as the movie started.

Stephanie looked at him and managed a small smile. "Nobody. Let's watch the movie."

* * *

"Damn," Robert sighed as he stared into the fridge. "Steph, we don't have any chicken."

Stephanie looked up from the picture Jenny was drawing and frowned. "We don't?"

"No. There goes chicken curry for dinner. What else do you want?"

"Actually, why don't I go and buy some?" Stephanie blurted out before she had a chance to control herself. Why the hell did she say that? She knew why and the reason was a certain blonde sitting in his apartment not too far from here. For the rest of the movie all she had done was sit and think about him and what they could have been doing. She had subconsciously jumped at the chance to possibly go and see him.

Robert looked at her as he closed the fridge door. "You want to go buy chicken?"

"Sure, why not. You've been wanting it all day. Surely you can wait a little while longer," she offered with a smile yet on the inside her heart was racing. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Being with him when he unexpectedly showed up in her office was one thing. Purposely going out of her way and deceiving her husband to get to him was something completely different all together.

"Alright," Robert smiled. "If you want to go get it I won't stop you."

"Great," she replied, trying not to look too excited. The heat between her legs only intensified as she grabbed her keys. She wanted him. She wanted him the second she had answered the phone. Her body had been stewing as she watched the movie. It was surreal to say the least, lusting for another man while her husband sat right next to her. It was sordid. It turned her on even more than she already was and she absolutely hated it. Damn him. Damn him to hell. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"So? Are you going or do you want to stand there all day," he laughed, giving her a slight nudge.

"Oh!" she replied, shaking out of her reverie with a half hearted smile. "I'll see you soon." And with that she was out the door and in the car. She pulled out of their drive and just sat there for a moment or two. A left turn would take her to their usual grocery store. A right turn would lead her down a road she wasn't quite sure she was ready to travel. She wearily glanced at her wedding ring and felt her eyes close over tightly. What was she doing? She didn't know this person she was becoming. The person that was debating over a chicken curry or something much more fulfilling. Her mind wandered to that day in her office. She could almost feel his hands on her body, touching and caressing her. She could hear his deep breaths in her ear as he took them both into a place they had never been. Her body involuntarily shivered. Her hand reached out and flicked the indicator up. The car slowly turned to the right and crept onto the road.

* * *

Her knuckles nervously rapped against the door a few times. There was no turning back now. A few seconds passed and the door eventually swung open. Her breath hitched in her throat at the sight of him. His bare chest captivated her. She recklessly let her eyes run down to the loose jeans he wore and then back up his chiselled frame to rest on his face. He looked surprised.

"I'm confused," he said lowly, his head tilting to the side as a pensive expression began to form on his face.

"You're not the only one," she replied, managing a small smile along with it.

They both stood there holding the other's gaze yet neither knowing what to say. Paul pushed the door open a little further and stepped to the side. "You want to come in?" It scared him how much his body was responding just to the sight of her. He swore she was put on this earth to drive him crazy. He couldn't stop thinking about that night in her office. It was without a doubt one of the most incredible experiences of his life. He got hard just thinking about it.

Stephanie slowly walked forward. Her head spun as she caught a whiff of his cologne. Why were they doing this to each other? They both knew why she had come over. This stupid and drawn out waiting was pointless.

"What changed your mind?" he asked, closing the door behind him. He moved to stand in front of her again so he could let his eyes sweep over her form. She looked beautiful in simple jeans, black t-shirt and jacket. He was smitten whether he knew it or not.

"Chicken."

"Chicken?"

"We ran out of chicken so I came out to get some and ended up here," she explained, feeling the guilt well up inside her. She couldn't even think about Robert right now. She raised her gaze from the hardwood floor and looked into his eyes, immediately getting sucked in. They were dark with desire and it made her chest flutter. He wanted her. It felt so good to know that but she couldn't explain why.

"So you're saying that I remind you of chicken?" His eyes twinkled and a small smile began to tug at his lips.

"When I think about you chicken is the last thing on my mind. Trust me." His relaxed manner put her ease and she too managed a smile. But it quickly disappeared when he took a step towards her. His hand reached out and caressed her cheek as he leaned down to her ear. "Oh, I do," he whispered, placing a kiss on the sensitive skin under her lobe.

And that was all it took. She instantly grabbed his face and pulled his lips to hers. A loud sigh was swallowed into his mouth as she revelled in the feeling of his body pressed against her. He pushed the jacket off her shoulders and brought his hands to the front, pushing them up her shirt and over her breasts. She bit down on his lip as he squeezed and moved his head lower, sucking and nipping at her neck. Her body was on fire. She reached down, tugged her t-shirt off and pressed herself into him. He moved back to her lips and kissed her hungrily. She almost felt delirious as his tongue wound against hers over and over. His kisses were addictive, just like the rest of him. His hands cupped her behind and he swiftly lifted her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around him as he began to walk. A second or two later her back bumped against the wall. Her legs dropped to her sides and her hands immediately went to work on his jeans, undoing the button and zipper before pushing them down slightly. He groaned when her hand ran along the ever growing bulge in his boxer briefs. He had been waiting for this all weekend. As she began to grope him he felt his reserve shatter. He quickly undid her jeans and pushed them completely down her legs. Not wasting any time, his fingers sought out the wet flesh between her legs. He delighted in the loud moan that escaped her lips. He watched as she threw her head back against the wall and chewed on her lip. Fuck if it wasn't the sexiest thing he'd ever seen. And it only got better as he moved her panties to the side and pushed two fingers deep into the place she needed them the most. Her hands clawed at his back, her body reeling from the contact. He watched her for a second before pressing his lips on hers. Her mouth quickly opened as they fell into a torrid and wet kiss. She tried her best to keep kissing him but she couldn't help it. She began to pant and sigh heavily, the feel of his fingers delving deep within her over and over just too much to handle. He pushed his palm flat against her as his fingers pushed inside and practically pushed her over the edge. His fingers began to lunge quicker and quicker. He pushed deeper and deeper, making sure he touched her spot every time. Her body began to shudder violently against him. He nearly came right then and there, the sight of her reaching ecstasy driving him absolutely and completely insane. He was about ready to burst. She cried out loudly, completely consumed by her orgasm until it was over, her body still shuddering in the aftermath.

"Fuck, that was beautiful," he groaned when she finally came to. Her eyes bored into his as he pulled his fingers from her.

She grabbed his face and pulled it close. She stared deeply into his eyes. "I need you, Paul. Oh, God I need you right now."

He took her hand in his and used it to pull his swollen member free. He was physically aching for her. "You have no fucking idea," he whispered before kissing her viciously. She gave as good as she got, pulling him as close to her as possible and abandoning herself in his kiss. With a few swift manoeuvres, he had her panties on the floor along with his jeans. Without a seconds thought, he propped her up and pushed inside. They both sighed deeply as they broke their passionate lip lock. Paul gently banged his head against her shoulder and groaned loudly, the feeling of finally being inside her too much to bear. She clutched his hair tightly in her hand, the other wrapped around his waist pulling his hips tighter into her. He paused for a moment before withdrawing and pushing forward again. If he were to die right now he couldn't think of a better way to go. His body was on fire as he began to find a rhythm, effortlessly pushing into her over and over.

"Oh God," she sighed, throwing her head back in pleasure. They fit so perfectly and he felt so damn good. "Fuck. Don't stop. Don't ever stop."

He raised his head from her shoulder and looked her in the eye. He saw nothing but pure pleasure on her face. She was glowing. She opened her eyes and they locked with his. He held her gaze. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop it from happening. His eyes told her everything he wasn't able to say and she knew hers were doing exactly the same. She could tell from the way his expression softened. As if he could sense her fear of what was happening between them in that moment, he picked up the pace and pushed deeper. With one swift thrust he rubbed hard against her spot, forcing her eyes to snap shut. They began to get frantic in their movements. Her hips bucked against him recklessly and without shame as she desperately tried to suck him further into her. He pushed forward powerfully. His stomach got tighter and tighter with each thrust. He was so damn close. He gave her everything he had. She cried out, almost screamed at him as she reached her limit for the second time.

"Fuck, Steph.......Stephanie," he grunted. He thrust into her deeply a few more times before exploding. She clawed at his back, sure that she had left marks this time at the feel of him emptying inside of her mixed with her own release. His thrusts slowed to a stop and he collapsed against her, nearly squashing her into the wall but she didn't care. She happily wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him into her. She could never have him close enough.

"Jesus Christ," he sighed as he pulled back slightly, just enough so her could see her face. He looked at her and couldn't help but smile. "That was something else," he said softly.

She raised her eyes to find him smiling cutely at her. He would have looked innocent if he hadn't have just screwed her brains out. She found herself smiling back. "It certainly was." She tried not to frown when he pulled out of her and stood back. Her feet dropped to the floor as she silently cursed herself. Yes, it had been something else but they were crossing a line. The look in his eyes screamed everything but 'This is just about sex!" She didn't know if that frightened or excited her. But what definitely frightened her was that she knew she was feeling exactly the same.

Paul pulled his jeans back up and pulled up his zipper but left the button undone. He watched as she started to fix herself. She brushed past him and picked up her t-shirt, pulling it on over her mussed up hair. It looked rumpled. If she was going back to her house right away she was going to have a hard time proving that she wasn't just involved in some sort of physical activity never mind sex. But he wasn't going to think about what she was going back to. He couldn't. Otherwise he'd end up doing something stupid and he couldn't afford to do that. He had to keep this casual even if he knew it wasn't. She had a husband and was obviously very confused. As long as she kept coming to him he didn't care. At least he told himself that.

"I guess I may get going then," she said quietly. Her eyes were trained on the floor, unable to look him in the eye. She walked to the door.

"Wait!"

She turned around in time to see him running off into another room. A few seconds later he returned with something in his hand. He came to stand in front of her and handed the package to her. She took it and immediately started laughing. "Really?"

"Hey," he laughed, "You said you needed chicken, right? It's the least I can do after what you've just given me."

Stephanie shook her head. She couldn't believe he had just handed her a packet of fresh chicken fillets. "Well, thank you. I guess that saves me going to the store."

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled that cute smile of his again. "Enjoy your dinner." He stepped forward and caressed her cheek for a moment before leaning down and kissing her softly. Stephanie couldn't help herself. She tilted her head upwards and kissed him back. All too soon he broke away. "Don't be such a stranger, Stephanie." He opened the door and pecked her lips one more time. "Bye."

"Bye," she smiled before tugging on her coat and walking out the door. She stood there for a moment unsure of what to make of the whole thing until the cold fillets began to freeze her hand. With a smile and an unknowing bounce in her step, she walked down the hallway and began the journey home.

* * *

Stephanie walked through the front door of her house to the sound of silence. As she got a little further into the foyer and walked towards the kitchen, she heard the sound of chatter and laughter. She pushed the swinging door open and walked inside. "Who's hungry?"

Robert looked up from the table and smiled. "Hey, you're back. That must be some pretty damn good chicken if it took you that long," he chuckled.

She stiffened slightly and subtly glanced down at the pack she held in her hand. She took quick note of the address that was printed just underneath the name of the store and inwardly groaned. Of course Paul was going to buy his food from a place close to his home. Unfortunately for her it was nowhere near where she lived. "Yeah........ahhhh.......a friend of mine told me about this new butcher, said he does the best cuts in town so.........I figured I'd go check it out."

"Oh," he said as he took the chicken from her hand and moved to the chopping board. He looked at the packet and frowned. "You went all the way to the Upper East Side to get some chicken? It better be good then!" He opened it up and began chopping away, blissfully unaware of who exactly had given her their dinner for the night.

"Hey mommy!"

Stephanie smiled down at her daughter. "Hey, sweetie. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah but daddy's going to make me chicken fingers because I don't like curry," replied Jenny.

"Well have you ever tried it?"

Jenny screwed up her face. "Ewwwww, no! Curry smells gross!"

Stephanie laughed as she took a seat opposite Jenny at the table. She glanced at her husband as he went about cooking their dinner. That was close. Luckily she had found an excuse. Next time she might not be so lucky. She inwardly gulped at that thought. Next time? Next time? She was already planning to meet him again. Her mind put the pieces together as a strong grip tightened her chest. This wasn't a onetime deal anymore. She was having an affair. Whether she liked it or not, she was having an affair and Robert didn't know a damn thing about it. What the hell was she going to do?


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**- Thanks for the feedback guys. Please keep it coming.

* * *

The phone vibrated against the desk. She watched as it swirled around. Her hand reached out to lift it but then quickly snapped back. It finally stopped moving and she let out a sigh of relief. She couldn't talk to him no matter how much she wanted to. And she wanted to. Oh how she wanted to. She couldn't get him off her mind. His touch. His smell. His taste. All of him. He was forever engrained in her memory and every time she thought about him her stomach coiled. She swore if she spent every waking hour of every waking day for the rest of her life with him it wouldn't be enough. That thought scared the life out of her but at the same time, it made her feel so alive. To know that there was somebody out there that wanted her so badly and however foolish it may be, who made her feel like she was a princess. She revelled in that feeling. It's what kept her going back to him. He made her feel good. She thought of him almost as if he were a drug and she was definitely addicted to him. She had heard how some junkies would do anything, sacrifice anything to get their fix. Well she had done just that only it was her marriage on the line.

"Dammit!" she sighed as she stood and walked to the large window of her office. Robert. She didn't know what the hell to do about him. It was almost as if he were the problem, not Paul. She knew it was wrong. It should be the other way around – her lover was the problem, not her husband. But she couldn't help how she felt. Not that she would ever admit it but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that she was falling for him. The worst thing about it all was that she knew how she could stop it from going any further but she simply wasn't prepared to do it.

"Mrs. McMahon, you have a visitor."

Stephanie turned to the door in shock. She wasn't expecting anybody. It was him. Her body began to tingle. She smiled nervously at Diane and smoothed her skirt. But her body slumped in something akin to disappointment when her mother walked through the door. "Mom!"

"Hi! I was in seeing your father so I thought I'd pop in and see you two kids too. Shane's not here right now though so it seems you're stuck with me!" Linda sat down on the couch at the far end of the room and began pulling things out of the brown paper bag she had brought with her. Her daughter was just standing there looking.......well she didn't really know how to describe the expression on her face right now. "Are you alright, honey? You look......"

"I'm great! I just wasn't expecting you today, that's all," Stephanie said as she joined her mother on the couch. Stupid! Why had she gotten her hopes up like that?

Linda looked at her curiously. She was acting strange. Although she had to admit that she had actually used Vince as an excuse to come and talk to her. She wanted to know what was going on with her daughter. "Diane said your schedule is clear for the next two hours so, here I am! And I brought you coffee and lunch." She passed the items over and Stephanie gladly took them.

"Thank you, Mom. So, how are things?"

"Things are great! Your dad has been telling me that business is starting to pick up again. I know things had been a little slow there for a while although you certainly found plenty of things to do around the office. Your dad thinks you have a secret client that you're hiding from him. I think he might be right. Robert even mentioned something about a new client the other night when you came by to pick up Jenny."

Stephanie gulped. She should have known her mother was up to something. This was a fishing expedition, pure and simple, even if she did bring up some valid points. Although they were more slip-ups on her part rather than points. She knew this would all sneak up on her, she just didn't know it would be so soon. And she wasn't prepared to face the truth quite just yet so she did the only thing she could do. "Did you really come all the way down here to talk shop? I thought you had some gossip for me!"

"Stephanie Marie!," she almost scolded. "Don't you try to distract me. Is everything alright with you? With you and Robert?"

"What makes you think there is something wrong?" Stephanie asked. She really didn't want to do this now. In fact, she didn't want to do it all. Putting on her best game face she decided it was in her best interest to convince her mother that nothing was going on.

Linda eyed her daughter suspiciously. She didn't look nervous or scared or worried. She looked the same as she always did. "Well Jenny said something the other day and it's made me quite concerned. She asked why you and Robert had to fight all the time. I had no idea you two were fighting. That's why I'm asking, Stephanie. If something's going on, I'm here if you want to talk."

"Oh God," Stephanie sighed. She didn't know Jenny had seem them fighting. She knew she had that one night but she didn't know of any other time. Her head was spinning as she tried to run over the events of the last few months in her head. No matter how she felt about Robert, she didn't want her daughter to know what was going on. Neither of them did. It would absolutely break her heart if she knew they were having problems and serious ones at that. Clearly she knew something was up. She glanced at her mother's worried face and frowned. How the hell was she going to explain this? "I won't lie to you, Mom. For a while there, things weren't so good. We had one big fight. I ended up leaving the house and just driving around until the next morning but we've worked it out. We're fine now, honestly." She hated lying. Absolutely hated it. She seemed to have no problem lying to her husband about her whereabouts these past few weeks though. How screwed up was that?

"You're sure?" Linda asked sceptically. Stephanie hated to admit defeat and admitting that there were problems in her marriage wouldn't be easy for her. But so help her she was determined to get to the bottom of this. She trusted her daughter implicitly. But for some reason, she just couldn't believe her this time. Something just wasn't adding up. Vince, Robert, Jenny and now Stephanie herself had all been telling her different things and she didn't know what to make of it all. But she did know that it didn't make sense. Stephanie was lying. She just knew it.

"Of course I'm sure. I swear to you, Mom. If we were having problems you would be the first person I'd come to for advice.

"Alright then. But promise me, Stephanie, promise me that you'll talk to me if you ever have a problem. I'm your mother and I love you," Linda said sincerely. She didn't like the fact that her daughter was lying to her one damn bit. But she wasn't going to get anywhere today so she decided to put it to rest for now.

Stephanie pulled Linda into a tight hug. "I love you too, Mom. You've got nothing to worry about though so let's just relax and eat this lunch you bought for us, yeah?"

"Alright."

As he two women tucked into their sandwiches, a quiet tension fell over the office. Stephanie hated herself for lying. Is that what she was going to do from now on? Lie to her family, to the people she loved just for one good lay? Who was she kidding? He meant more to her than a good fuck and she knew that. No matter how badly she tried to ignore it, she felt it in her chest every time she thought about him and it only intensified when she saw him or touched him. Linda took a sip of her coffee and inwardly groaned. Damn her for inheriting her father's stubbornness. She didn't get anywhere today but she was determined to get to the truth. Maybe it was time to throw a McMahon family dinner. Yes, it would be perfect. That way she could observe Robert and Stephanie and see if she was dreaming something up or if there really was problems between them. She made it a point to find out her daughter's plans for the weekend.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry about the long delay with this one. I'm not quite sure just where I want it to go atm. We shall see though lol.

* * *

"Mr. Levesque?"

"Mr. Levesque?"

"Sir?"

Paul snapped out of his daydream and glared at the young associate standing before him. "What?"

"Um, you asked me to come to your office for the Davis meeting?" The young man said hesitantly. Their boss could be a real asshole when he wanted to be, which was quite often. Jane said that it was because he needed a woman in his life to tame him. He didn't know how any woman would be able to stick him quite frankly. He was a moody SOB.

Paul frowned and looked at his watch. "Is that now?"

"It's in fifteen minutes, sir. I thought I'd get here early and we could discuss a strategy for getting the account."

"Is that right?" Paul smirked. He knew there was a reason he picked this kid. He didn't know him personally. In fact, he didn't know any of his employees personally. But he knew who could work the way he wanted them to and this kid was hungry. "Well then, Aaron, why don't you tell me your strategy and I'll see if we decide to go with it." He motioned for the younger man to take a seat and begin. He started out listening but after a few minutes his mind began to wander to the place it always seemed to want to be these days. Stephanie. Even the merest thought of her sent a tingle down his spine. When she had come over to his apartment the other day he had been surprised to say the least, especially when she had been so adamant that she wasn't coming. But she had come all right, in every sense of the word. A little smirk appeared on his face as he thought about it. Somehow he didn't think that he could ever get enough of her. She was like heaven. She tasted like heaven, looked like it, smelled like it, felt like it. And she was driving him absolutely crazy. He had never been one to lose focus at work. After all, he had built this company from the ground up and didn't want to screw himself over. But when she got into his head he couldn't get her out. Just like now. She was all he could think about.

"Sir?" Aaron shook his head as his boss seemed to have wandered off again. He hadn't been himself lately. He was like Jekyll and Hyde. One minute he was practically floating around the office and the next he was snapping everybody's heads off for the simplest of things.

"What?"

Aaron sighed. "I was saying that if we were to throw something in it for Mr. Davis, say he would get a small cut from the business we sell his company too once it has been divided up, then he would be more willing to sign with us?"

"Sweeten the deal so to speak, huh?" Paul forcefully pulled his thoughts from Stephanie and tried to focus on what was going on right now. It was futile though. For every time he managed to think about something else, he would hear her calling his name, or see her face awash in ecstasy and he was gone. He needed to see her and bad. There was no way he was getting through this meeting. He turned to Aaron and looked him dead in the eye. "Listen, I'm entrusting this entire deal to you, OK? Do whatever you want, make whatever promises you want. I don't care what you have to do, just get him to sign the dotted line, you hear me? He had a feeling in his gut that this kid wouldn't let him down.

"I...I...what?" Aaron stuttered. He couldn't believe it! Finally he was getting a chance to show his worth. He didn't know what the hell was going on with his boss right now but he didn't give a damn. He was getting an opportunity that every young associate could only dream of getting and he was going to take it with arms wide open.

Paul got to his feet and grabbed his coat. "You heard me. You have the account. Now get him to sign. Use my office." He stalked to the door but held it open and turned to look at the younger man before walking out. "And for fuck sakes, fix your tie!" He promptly closed the door and headed for his secretary's desk. "Jane, Aaron is handling the Davis account for me. Who do I have after that?"

The older woman brought his schedule up on her computer screen. "That was the last big account of the day, sir. You only have a HR session with the department at 4:30 and that's you for the day."

"Great. Tell them I'm not going. I'll see you tomorrow."

Jane stared after him in confusion. He had been blowing off a lot of meetings lately and now he was just handing off multimillion dollar accounts to the younger guys in the office? Something was sure as hell up with him but she had no idea what it was. In the five or so years she had been working for him she never really got to know him. But he paid well and had a great benefit scheme so she stuck with him. He never acted out of sorts and she was intrigued to say the least as to what it was that was making him act so out of character.

* * *

Stephanie finished typing up the document she was working on. She pressed save and let out a sigh. Her eyes felt tired from staring at a computer screen all day but she had wanted to get it done. Now that it was she could relax a little. Slinking back into her soft leather chair, she was just about to buzz for some coffee when her cell phone vibrated against the desk.

"_Central Park. Entrance facing your office. 15 mins_."

"What the hell?" she muttered to herself. What was he playing at, sending her demanding texts like this? Just who the hell did he think he was? She practically glared at the phone for a second before typing her reply. "Why?"

A second or two later and the phone buzzed again.

"_I need to see you_."

A lump formed in her throat when she read the message. What the hell did that mean? I need to see you? She wearily rubbed at her neck. Crap. What was she going to do? Her eyes drifted out the window and glanced down to the park below. He was just a five minute walk away. And he was asking her to go see him. The small voice in the back of her head telling her not to go was overpowered by the much larger one telling her that if he wanted to see her, who was she to deny him? Quickly glancing at her planner, she realised that she had two hours before she had to be back for a meeting with her father. Two hours. That would give them enough time if they wanted to... Between her thighs was already burning with the thought. She quickly grabbed her purse and made for the door.

"Diane, I'm just heading out for some coffee, OK? I'll be back soon."

"But I can get somebody to get it for you," Diane questioned, her face screwing up with her confusion. She couldn't remember the last time her boss had got her own coffee.

Stephanie inwardly sighed. "It's fine, really. I need the fresh air anyways. I'll be back in a few."

Luckily the other woman didn't say anything else and she slipped past her and into the elevator. She looked down at her watch. Five minutes to go. Her heart was thumping with anticipation. Almost exactly five minutes later and she standing just inside the park entrance gate, her eyes eagerly sweeping over the area for any sign of him. And then she saw him, sitting on a bench just a few feet away. She hesitantly began walking towards him. He looked up and smiled, making her chest grow tight. That really shouldn't be happening, not with a man that wasn't her husband.

Paul rose to his feet and offered a small smile. "Hey."

"Hey," she answered, pulling her coat a little tighter around her to fight off the chill. "So, what's this all about?"

"I...sit down, please?" He sat down beside her and rubbed his hands over his face before turning to look at her. She literally stole his breath away. What the hell was happening to him? He was so sure that this was only about sex until he saw her face and he was hit by a thousand different emotions at once. He didn't know what the hell to do about it.

Stephanie looked at him in confusion. She titled her head to side a little. "Are you, OK?"

"I'm fine. Listen, I asked you here because I...well...fuck I don't even know." His brown eyes were pleading with her but she had no idea what for. "I just had to see you. You..." he ran a hand over his face again and kept his fingers close to his mouth. "You're driving me fucking crazy," he muttered.

She was barely able to make him out but she did and it caused her heart to jump in her chest.

His big brown eyes latched on to hers again and he tentatively reached for her hand. "I can't stop thinking about you...I..."

She let go of his hand as quickly as she took it. Her eyes shut tightly trying to block out what he had just said. "Don't. Please. This isn't...we can't do this...please..."

He stared out at the various different people in the park for a few moments before his gaze became fixed solely on her. "I have no choice. I'm not lying here. You actually are driving me crazy, Stephanie."

Her name on his lips sounded so right and she fought so damn hard to reject the tiny bubbles starting to float around in her stomach. "Paul..." She trailed off not even knowing what she was trying to say. There were no words. Just the connection that was growing between them and growing stronger with every passing second.

"Come with me," he whispered, this time taking hold of her hand and not giving her the option to let go. His fingers gripped hers tight and she swore she felt herself melting into his touch.

"Don't do this." Her eyes shut as she tried desperately to fight off every nerve ending in her body that was tingling with the mere touch of his hand.

"I'm not asking you to run away. Just come to my apartment." He shuffled closer to her on the bench and leaned his head next to hers so that his lips were hovering around her ear. "I need you," he whispered ever so softly.

Stephanie felt her chest tighten with such intense emotion. Something took over her and she began nodding her head without even knowing it. "OK," she muttered, almost incoherently. It was like she was under his spell. She probably was. The fact that she was so close to her office and that somebody might see them was completely lost on her. All she could feel was the delicious warmth of his hand and the remnants of his whispered need in her ear. He needed her. And she needed him. Oh, how badly she needed him. So she gave in and let him lead her through the puzzled maze of the park and out of it to his waiting car. They got inside and she gave in to her overwhelming sense of need for him. She would deal with the consequences later. Right now all she wanted to do was be with him. Somehow, that thought didn't seem so scary anymore.


	9. Chapter 9

"So, how was work?"

Stephanie managed a small smile as she walked through to the kitchen and was greeted by her husband's question. He was leaning over the dishwasher putting the dirty plates of his and their daughter's dinner away. She had called and told him she wouldn't be home in time. She just couldn't face him, not after what she'd done.

"It was fine," she answered meekly, dumping her bag on the table and taking her coat off. "Dad got a heads up on some potential new clients so we're going to be busy over the next few weeks."

Robert frowned. "Well we just picked up a couple of big cases ourselves so I'm going to be pretty busy too. Maybe we should hire back that part time nanny we had not too long ago, just for a little while until things calm down at work, huh?"

She couldn't believe it. Here he was practically offering her something that would provide ample opportunity for her to spend more afternoons like the one she just had. If only he knew. Her mind worked over time. Should she agree to this? Who was she kidding, she knew she was going to. After spending the afternoon locked away in her own little world with Paul she came to the realisation that she needed him every bit as much as he seemed to need her. She had felt it in his touch and seen it in his eyes. Before, it made her nervous. Now all she could do was helplessly stare back. She was half scared to death at what she saw in his eyes and half desperate to let herself feel the same way.

"So, what do you think?"

"Oh...yeah, sure. A nanny would be great."

Robert studied his wife curiously. She was acting all kinds of strange lately. And he knew it wasn't down to their marriage problems. If it was she would just outright not talk to him or bite his head off. She almost seemed to treat him like he was just any other person to her and not her husband. He didn't know what to make of her. They were supposed to be working on their marriage and trying to get back to the way things were between them. But deep down he felt like she wasn't fully committed to that. Did she feel like it wasn't worth the effort? His chest tightened at the thought. He loved her. Despite all the shit, he really did love her and he wanted this to work. But it wasn't going to, not if he was the only one trying. Deciding to pry a little, he poured them both a drink and ushered her into the living room.

"Where's Jenny?"

"She's up there reading her new book. I haven't been able to get the damn thing out of her hands all day."

Stephanie smiled absently. She sat down on the sofa and fingered the wine glass in her hand. Just a few hours ago she was sitting on a couch, well, lying on a couch underneath Paul would be a more accurate description. The second they had walked through the door he dragged her to the couch and kissed her desperately. They moved from the couch, to the wall just outside his bedroom and finally to his bed. Her eyes slipped shut as she remembered his hands all over her. She longed to feel his touch again. Whether it was right or wrong, she couldn't deny the fact that no man, not even Robert, had ever made her feel like that with his touch. Paul revered her, almost like she was a Goddess. And then in an instant it was as if he snapped and the animal inside took over. She didn't know what side she liked more.

"Steph," Robert began. He waited until he had her attention before continuing. "Is everything OK with us, with you? I mean, lately I feel like you aren't...that you don't...We agreed that we would both try and make this work but, I guess I just feel like it's a little one sided."

She was dreading this, she really was. She trained her eyes to the ground, unable to face him. She wished she could take a rain check on this conversation but as she finally turned to face her husband she knew it wasn't at option. "Robert," she sighed heavily, reaching out to take his hand. "This isn't just going to be fixed overnight. It's going to take a while. I'm still...I don't know. I just don't want to rush this." Inwardly she was cringing. Damn she sounded convincing, a little too convincing. Why was she doing this to him? He deserved better. But for some reason she seemed determined to torture both of them. Her eyes locked onto his and she felt a pang of...longing perhaps, in her chest. For the first time in a while she _really_ looked at him. His deep blue eyes were glimmering with hope, his lips drawn into a concerned frown as he sat there holding her hand. Her mind felt like it was being tugged in a million directions. Suddenly, all the wonderful emotions she used to associate with her husband came flooding back to her. Why couldn't she remember them when she needed to, when Paul was asking for her? Maybe if she did she wouldn't be so quick to jump into his bed. She felt physically torn. What the hell was she doing? It started to get too much and her eyes began to water.

"Hey, don't cry. I never meant to make you cry," he hushed softly, reaching up to wipe at her watery eyes. He pulled her to him tightly, revelling in the feel of having her in his arms. His eyes snapped shut when she shuffled closer and wrapped her arms around him. He had misjudged her. She did want this to work out. She just didn't want to screw it up. He felt like such an idiot. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. We'll do this at your pace, baby. Whatever you want."

Stephanie clutched his short brown hair and buried her head in his chest. She cried for herself and her confusion. She cried for her husband who was committed to making them work but yet was being deceived all the way. And she cried for Paul, the man who was slowly but surely working his way into her heart whether she wanted to admit it or not. No matter how this whole thing worked itself out, somebody was going to get hurt.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N** - Yeah, ummm, smut warning for this one. Oh, and language too. Paul is not a happy camper at the start of this thing lol.

* * *

"Pick up. Pick up dammit!"

When the call went to voicemail for the third time in a row he angrily threw the phone onto the bed and paced towards the window. His eyes glanced at the clock. It was 8pm. She should be home by now. His mind worked over time, trying to figure out where she was or why she wasn't answering her phone. In fact, they hadn't spoken for almost a week and it confused him to no end. After the afternoon they spent together he just couldn't understand why she didn't want to speak to him. For the first time she actually looked him in the eyes as he entered her and continued to do so as they were swept higher and higher towards pleasure. He took her on the couch, against the wall and then finally in his bed. The simple act of being able to lie with her afterwards still made his chest ache. It was when she shoved him off and began searching for her clothes that he fully realised he wanted more. For that very reason it was killing him to have her not answer any of his calls or messages.

"Good God woman, you drive me crazy," he muttered to himself, running a hand down his weary face. He was so damn tired. Aaron had snatched the Davis account and the office had been working over time trying to keep him happy all week. In a way, he was sort of thankful for it because that way at least there was some distraction from Stephanie and her lack of response. Making his way towards the bed, he plopped onto it and sighed heavily. Maybe he should just go over there, knock her husband out and take her right there. That was one thing he wasn't prepared to really think about. She did have a husband and the thought of her going back to him made him feel sick. Was she playing the two of them off? He didn't think so. She looked way too torn for that. And he fully expected that he would never see her again if he turned up at her door. That ruled that option out. Maybe he should make another unexpected visit to her office. Jesus, just the thought of that night never failed to make his groin stir. He'd never experienced anything like it. His slacks grew a little tighter as he remembered how good she felt, how good she always felt.

"Fuck!"

He felt like punching something. Fucking hell if he wasn't frustrated both sexually and mentally. He wanted her, in the physical and also the emotional sense. He wasn't afraid to admit it anymore. He definitely had or was developing feelings for her. He only wished he knew whether she was feeling the same. Her eyes and the way she held onto him when they were together told him one thing. Her never calling him back told him another. Suddenly his phone began to vibrate against the dark blue of his bed sheets. His hand instantly reached out so he could read the message.

"I can't do this anymore. Sorry," he read to himself. "What the fuck does that mean?" His eyes scanned over it again, almost in disbelief. She was without a doubt the most annoying and aggravating woman he had ever met in his life. Sometimes he felt like she wasn't worth the hassle. The he would remember his time with her and that notion went out the window. He needed her too much, just like he needed her right now. He angrily punched in his own message and hit send. Within seconds there was a response.

"_I just can't do it. Please stop calling me_."

"The fucking hell I will!" He angrily got to his feet and began to pace around the bedroom. Why was she doing this? She wanted him. They both knew it. And if she forgot then he would damn well make sure he reminded her. He hit the call button and lifted the phone to his ear.

"What do you want?" she hissed.

"You fucking know what I want!" was his unimpressed answer.

"I already told you, I can't do this anymore."

Paul couldn't help but smirk as he absently rubbed at his beard. "Well I'm sorry but I don't buy it. We both know you want it. There's no point in denying it anymore."

He heard her sigh heavily. "I don't care! I'm not going to destroy my marriage over this!"

"Funny how you never seem to care about destroying your marriage when you're getting fucked by me isn't it?

"Fuck you!" He anger was evident from her pissed off tone.

"I'd love to."

"You know what? I don't have time for this. Goodbye."

Despite his bravado, he really didn't want her to hang up. "Wait!"

"What's the point?"

"Here's the point, don't do this over the phone. The least you can do is have the balls to tell me to my face." He offered the bait, hopefully she would accept.

Stephanie felt her anger bubbling to the surface. Good God he knew how to push her buttons. "Like I owe you anything. All I'm good for is a good fuck, remember?"

"Of course I remember. I can't get it out of my head," he almost seethed.

"Paul..."

"Tell me you don't think about it and I'll hang up this phone right now." Her silence was the perfect answer. "You can't do it. You can't do it because you want this as much as I do. Don't torture yourself, Stephanie. Come see me tonight."

For a second or two all he could hear was her deep breathing before the line went dead. His fingers gripped his cell phone tight in his hand before he launched it towards the bed again. "FUCK! FUCKING FUCK YOU STEPHANIE MCMAHON!"

He only wished that he was in fact doing that right now. But no, he most likely just blew his chances by pissing her off and continuing to do so to the point where she just hung up on him. He groaned in frustration. The adrenaline from his anger was pumping through his veins. He needed to vent, needed to do something. His eyes caught sight of his gym bag and he angrily stomped towards it. A workout would do nicely. Anything to get his mind off her.

* * *

Around an hour later he had finished an intense workout yet still didn't feel completely sated. He walked to his master bathroom and turned the shower on, hoping that the hot water would ease away the rest of the tension in his body. There was only one thing that could cure the stiffness between his legs but somehow he didn't think that was going to happen tonight. As he thought about her he began to get angry again. Stomping back out to his bedroom, he was just about to pull his tank off when he heard a loud knocking on the door and was pleasantly surprised when he saw who was on the other side when he opened it.

"Stephanie? What..."

That was as far as he got before she practically threw herself onto him. Her hands wrapped around his neck and her lips were immediately on his, kissing him hard and stealing her tongue into his mouth. She didn't know what she was doing. All she knew was that she had sat at home for an hour in an absolute fury. Robert was busy working and Jenny was with the nanny. All she could do was sit there and stew. Until she realised that she could let him have a piece of her mind by going to see him. With that thought, she remembered what had happened the last time she was in his apartment. On the drive over, her mind quickly changed from hating his guts to needing him inside her and fast. When she finally arrived at his building her body was on fire. And when she saw him standing there, his hair wet from his obvious workout and his tank stained with sweat, she had never wanted something so badly in her life. So here she was, kissing him like nobody's business and secretly getting off on the fact that he seemed confused. At least for a moment, she was the one in control.

Paul lost himself in her kiss for another moment before he considered breaking away and asking her what the hell she was doing. But when he felt her hand creep down his chest and dip into his sweats, he lost any measure of decency and pushed the door shut with one hand while lifting her up with the other. She wrapped her legs around him tight, bringing both of her hands to his face and kissing him endlessly. She wanted to taste all of him. He walked them both back through the apartment, through his bedroom and finally to the master bathroom. Roughly dropping her onto her feet, he whipped his tank off his head in warp speed then moved right back to her lips while his hands went to work on her blouse. Not caring, he simply ripped it open and quickly pulled at her front clasp bra. Her heavy moan was lost in the sound of the shower as he dipped his head to taste her. He devoured her breasts leaving no area untouched. Her nipples were hard in his mouth. Suddenly she pushed him away and just like he did before, she yanked her blouse and bra completely off. She then made quick work of her pants and heels until she was completely naked in front of him.

"Fuck I missed you so much," he hissed, his length getting even harder at the sight of her. He too pushed down his sweats and immediately pulled her into the steamy shower enclosure. His mouth was instantly on hers, their tongues rolling together over and over while his hand moved between her legs. She instinctively opened them wider, needing to feel his touch. When he pushed his fingers inside, she swore she almost died. He didn't hold back, instantly gaining a rhythm and thrusting them into her.

"Oh Jesus, Paul!" she cried helplessly as the water fell all around them. His hair was matted to his forehead and his wet body slipped against hers.

He peeled his lips from her neck for a moment to look her in the eye. "And here I was thinking that you never wanted to see me again," he grunted, enjoying how her eyes had shut and her hips were grinding against his hand. The water cascading down her face only made her sexier. He was finding it hard not to just take her right from the get go.

Stephanie lightly slapped his face. "Just shut up."

"What? You don't want me to tell you what I'm going to do to you? How I'm going to..."

She reached up and clamped her hand over his mouth while a small chuckle escaped from her own. "Don't tell me." She kissed him hard then pulled back quickly. "Show me," she whispered.

Her surprised gasp was swallowed into his mouth as he withdrew his fingers from her and hoisted her up, her back meeting the cold tile of the wall. He held himself right at her entrance, teasing her, his hands stroking the side of her face. "You want me to show you?"

The feel of his tip barely touching her was driving her crazy. She needed him. Oh how she desperately, desperately needed him. "God yes!"

"I'll fucking show you alright." He instantly pushed into her hard, his pelvis touching hers as he pushed deep, eliciting a loud cry of relief from her. Her hands clawed at his back as he adopted a hard and fast rhythm, pushing into her with everything he had. She thrust back at him with wanton abandon, her body coiling in pleasure at the feel of his length hitting all the right spots.

"Jesus," he muttered heavily into her neck. He was getting so damn close. But so help him he wanted to make a point. He lifted his head and looked at her. Her head was thrown back against the wall, her eyes shut as she bit her lip so hard it was turning white.

"Don't stop. Oh...oh God, Paul...ohhhhhh..." Stephanie was in heaven. Nothing ever felt this good. Her stomach grew tight. She almost became dizzy with pleasure until her body began to shake.

Paul couldn't help himself as he began to push harder. He felt her body start to shudder and knew she would cum any second. "That's it. Come for me baby."

His words wrangled it out of her, her body shuddering violently as she called his name, almost shouted his name at the intensity of her release. She could feel his arms holding her close, his eyes watching her, his length still buried within her. When her shakes subsided, he slowly began to thrust again, his hardness starting to work her up all over again. Only she didn't think she could take it. "I can't...I can't...Oh God, Paul."

"Yes, yes you can," he grunted, pulling his face level with hers and looking right into her eyes. He still wanted to make his point. Holding her gaze, thrust by thrust he slowly began to pick up the pace. But this time he made sure that she felt the emotion behind every one of them. He kept one hand around her waist and the other he brought to her mouth. His thumb ran across her lip before his hand held her cheek. He kissed her deeply and felt his chest grow tight when she responded in kind, her hands threading through his hair as her hips bucked wantonly against his. When he could no longer breathe, he tore his mouth from hers but kept his face close, leaning his forehead against hers. He was so damn close. As he looked at her he realised that she was too. He started to push harder and faster yet still managing to push so deep inside. His body was screaming for release.

"Fuck, Steph. Look at me," he whispered. "Look at me."

She felt her eyes beginning to well up. She knew what he was doing. She could feel it in his tender movements and the way he was touching her. And if she opened her eyes and looked at him it would only become real.

"Stephanie. Look at me," he asked one more time. The emotion in his voice tugged on her heart and she had no choice but to open her eyes. His expression told her everything she didn't want to know. Her thought process was quickly interrupted by the feel of his pulsating length. She had no time to think about the consequences. All she could do was wrap her arms around him and pull him close as he brought them higher one more time.

"Yes. Oh fuck yes. Ohhhhhhh, Paul..."

He grunted and pressed his head against hers. "Ah fuck," he sighed heavily, pushing a final few times. Her body began to shake again and that was all he needed. He exploded into her as she shuddered around him, his hips pushing one last time. He felt like his body was floating out of him. God he needed that, needed it like the very air he breathed. He kept his arms wrapped around her waist and lowered her to the floor before burying his head in her neck.

Stephanie breathed heavily and hugged him close. She didn't want to think about what just happened. Somewhere between hating his guts and just wanting him to fuck her, she let her emotions get caught up in the middle. He absolutely succeeded in making his point. He wasn't just in this for a hot lay. He cared about her. A small smile broke out on her face. He had a funny way of showing it. Maybe he wasn't good with words but his actions more than made up for it.

"Do you have to leave?"

She looked down at him. His eyes were almost pleading with her to stay and she just didn't have it in her to refuse him. Besides, the little niggling voice in the back of her head was screaming at her to never let him go. "I can stay for a while."

Paul smiled and kissed her softly. "Perfect." He bent his head one more time and savoured the feel of her pressed against him. He wanted to keep her here forever. From the look on her face he could tell that he got to her. Mission accomplished. As she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, he couldn't imagine a better end to his day.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N **- Sorry for being a sucky updater. I'll endeavor to do better in November. Although I always endeavor to do better and it never really turns out so don't hold your breath lol.

* * *

"Mommy!"

Stephanie smiled at her daughter as she walked through the front door of her house. She dropped her bag on the table and leaned down to pull Jenny into a hug. "Hey sweetheart."

"I just got into my pyjamas. Daddy was just about to read my story but now you both can do it!" she yelled excitedly, tugging on her mother's hand and trying to pull her in the direction of the stairs. "Come on!"

"Ok, ok!" Stephanie could only chuckle as she let herself be pulled along to her daughter's bedroom. Robert was already inside. She managed to smile brightly at him. "Hey. What were you doing up here?"

Robert saw his wife walk into the room and smiled at her, grateful to have her home. She was getting in later and later. He was really thankful that they had hired Rosa as their nanny. "Hey. Jenny was just getting something to drink, weren't you sweetheart."

"Uh-huh," the young girl replied simply as she hopped up onto the bed and pulled the covers around her. "I want this book tonight," she stated, her finger pointing to the skinny red backed book on her bedside table. "Mommy's going to read to."

"Really?" he asked in surprise. He couldn't remember the last time they had read her a story together. Maybe things really were getting back on track. He delighted when she nodded her head and got comfortable on the edge of the bed beside him. "Well then, let's get this thing going!"

"Once up on at time, there was a Princess called...Jenny!" Robert began to read to the delighted squeal of his daughter.

As her husband started the story, Stephanie's mind drifted to the peculiar events of her day. For starters, not one thing occurred out of place. There was no traffic, the deli wasn't out of her favourite sandwich at lunch and she received no aggressive text messages from a certain someone. Regarding the latter the opposite actually occurred. She had been sitting at her desk early this morning, just about to open up a new account and get started when her phone beeped. Her earlier confusion at his message returned. _Just want to let you know that I'm free to meet today if you are. I'd really like to see you. Paul._ Since when did he start being nice to her? Probably since they almost made lo...since they fucked in his shower and things quickly became very different between them. That was his first message. And when she replied, they quickly fell into an overly flirtatious and if she was being honest, wonderful and exciting texting conversation. She never expected him to be so...human, most likely because most times they met he was either only interested in getting in her pants or acting like a total jackass, a total jackass who still managed to get into her pants regardless. She couldn't help but shake her head at that thought. He had a hold over her. God help her but she just couldn't refuse him, not when she wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her.

"Mommy?"

Jenny's impatient cry caught her off guard. She tried her best to focus on what was going on at that moment but unfortunately she was drawing a blank. "I'm sorry sweetie. I just spaced out. What's up?"

"Did you hear any of the story?"

She shook her head no and grimaced at the annoyed little frown that appeared on Jenny's face.

"You have to listen Mommy!" Jenny sighed dramatically causing both parents to laugh. "OK, so there is a Princess called Jenny who is old enough to be married and her daddy, the king, wants her to marry Prince David from the nearby kingdom. But, she doesn't want to because she is in love with a famous knight called Edward and she wants to be with him but her daddy won't let her. Now she is sad and upset because she doesn't know what to do and her daddy is getting evil and Edward is getting hurt. OK?"

Stephanie tried to stop her face from turning white. She felt physically sick as the details of the fairytale were explained. What the hell was going on? Was fate trying to slap her in the face with a story like this? A Princess torn between the Prince she's forced to be with and the man she actually wants to be with? Was somebody trying to tell her something?

Robert noticed the strange, almost frightened expression on his wife's face and nudged her gently. "Honey, are you alright?"

"Oh...oh, I'm fine. I just...nothing." She smiled at them both and motioned with her hand. "Go on then, let's hear the rest of it, Jenny." Although she didn't need to nor want to. In her mind, she was the Princess, Robert was Prince David and Paul was Edward. There she was, trapped in her own fairytale between her husband and her lover. And how did all fairytales end? Growing up on Disney movies would lead her to believe that happily ever after was the right answer. But this was no fairytale, not by a long shot. Somebody was going to get hurt and hurt bad. She had no idea who that was going to be. Could she really take off with Paul and hurt Robert like that, not to mention the impact on her daughter? And why was she even thinking like that anyways? She owed nothing to Paul. So what if he got hurt? At the end of the day he still got what he wanted, a hot fuck, regardless of whether there were feelings involved or not. She pushed away the images in her head of the change in his voice the last time they were together, how it had softened as he asked her to look him in the eyes. Who was she kidding? They were more than that now, they went deeper. But she had to keep telling herself the opposite because if it was just about sex then nobody would get hurt, not her, not Robert and not...not Paul. So that's the way it had to be.

"MOMMY! You're not listening again!"

She snapped out of her inner battle and sighed apologetically. "Oh Jenny, I'm sorry sweetheart, I'm just tired that's all. I think I'm going to go get ready for bed OK? I'll come see you in a few minutes." She leaned over and kissed her soft brown hair before turning and heading to her bedroom.

Jenny watched her mother leave then turned to her father who looked equally as confused. "What's wrong with mommy, daddy? She's acting weird."

"She's just tired, pumpkin," Robert soothed with his best smile, reaching out to smooth her hair although inside he was thinking anything but. There was something going on with his wife. No matter what had been troubling her before, she had never neglected their daughter like that. Steph had completely spaced out and then almost turned white as a ghost and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. Was she sick? All sorts of possibilities began to run through his mind until he felt a soft tugging on his arm.

"Now you're going all weird too," Jenny said quietly. She had never seen her parents act so strange before.

"Hey! I thought you said I was weird already, huh?" Robert smiled, reaching out to tickle under her chin. She giggled until they settled in to finish reading the story. He'd deal with his wife later; right now he had to read his little girl her story.

* * *

Stephanie anxiously bit her nail as she sat on the edge of the bed and stared at her phone. She had already typed in her reply. All she had to do was hit send. She stared for a few seconds longer until her hand slowly made its way to the little green button. With a quick intake of breath she pushed the button and shut her eyes. It was done now. No turning back. Almost instantly the phone buzzed in her hand. She opened the message and felt a shiver down her back.

"_Great. C U 2moro_."


	12. Chapter 12

"Stephanie?"

"Stephanie? Are you with me?"

Vince frowned at his daughter as she broke out of whatever daydream she had fallen into and smiled apologetically. She had been drifting off a lot lately and always with that same strange expression on her face.

"Sorry dad. What were you saying?"

"I was talking about the Jackson account. He's an old friend of mine from Chicago and he's thinking about partnering with us."

"Oh!" Stephanie said, suddenly recalling the man in question. She just had no idea why they were talking about him at an impromptu working lunch. Her dad had surprised her with some sandwiches and coffee. Eager for the break, she happily obliged and there they were, relaxing in his office while at the same time running over some accounts with her brother Shane. "So have you spoken to him?"

"Jesus Steph!" Shane joked, playfully nudging her in the arm. "Haven't you been listening at all?"

Stephanie looked at her brother in confusion. "What?"

Shane rolled his eyes and set down his sandwich. "Dad wants one of us to fly to Chicago over the weekend to meet with Jackson and secure the account and I was just telling him that I can't go so..."

"Why can't you go? I can't go either!"

"Because I promised Rissa and the kids I'd take them camping this weekend. I had to bail on them last week and I can't do it again," Shane explained, taking great amusement in his sister's outrage.

"Oh that's bull crap, Shane!"

"What do you mean?"

Vince watched them bicker for a few moments before putting up his hand and telling them to stop. "Steph, I don't see what the big deal is. You don't have anything on this weekend and you've never had a problem with doing this before. In fact, every time I have sent you out you always come back with a client. And we need this account, Steph. It will be big business and help us expand into other cities. "

She looked at her dad's expectant face and sighed. He was counting on her and she couldn't let him down, even if it meant spending at least 3 damn days alone in Chicago with her thoughts. Her mind was her own self inflicted torture these days. It was constantly bringing up ridiculous scenarios of her and Paul together in some disgustingly romantic setting like a beach or God knows where. If she had to stay alone in a hotel room for just one night never mind a few she would go crazy. The sound of her brother's laughter caused a scowl to form on her face and she promptly slapped his arm. "Shut up, Shane!" She let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll go. I'll get Diane to sort out a flight and hotel." She got to her feet, kissed her father on the cheek, gave Shane another dirty look before waving goodbye and walking out the door.

Shane watched after her for a second then looked at his father with a curious stare. "What is up with her recently?"

"I have no idea," Vince said solemnly as he shook his head. "Your mother thinks there's something going on between her and Robert but..."

"With Robert? No way! I was speaking with him on the phone just the other night and he told me everything was great."

Vince shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, well. Whatever it is, it's clearly affecting her. She's always drifting off and she always has that..."

"Weird look on her face?"

"YES! You noticed it too?" Vince asked, glad that he wasn't the only one.

Shane nodded. "Yeah." He sat for a moment or two, his mind running over various reasons for his sister's weird behaviour. "I don't know dad. Maybe she's just having a bad week."

"This has been going on more than a week. But I'm thinking, your mother mentioned something about a big family dinner sometime soon. I think we just might do it and hopefully get some answers."

The two McMahon men pondered over Vince's suggestion before continuing on with their working lunch. They were on the clock and right now, business came first.

* * *

The air was cold and she pulled her jacket tighter around her body to keep out the chill as she crossed the busy road and headed towards the park. She was either incredibly stupid or she just didn't give a crap, meeting him at the park close to her office again but she just had to see him. She took solace in the fact that they absolutely couldn't do anything more than talk this time. She really did have to get back to work. Come to think about it, she wasn't so sure she was happy about that at all. She spotted his large frame sitting on the bench to her right, his hands between his knees as they bounced off the ground.

"Hey," she said softly causing him to lift his head. She tried not to lose her breath when his eyes connected with hers but failed miserably. He was starting to have that effect on her. Jesus.

"Hey," he smiled, shuffling over and making room for her beside him. He was just about to lift the phone and call her when it had buzzed in his hand. "I was just about to call you, you know. Seems like we were both thinking the same thing."

She fought the urge to move closer to him on the bench and it wasn't because of the cold. Every time she was near him this guttural instinct to just touch him took over. It was why she could never say no. Her eyes were trained on the ground as she spoke. "I don't know why but I just had to see you."

"I'm so glad that you did," he whispered, his body moving right next to hers, effectively making the decision for her. His hand reached out and took hers, squeezing it gently. "My day was extremely boring until now."

She could feel him watching her. She turned her head and immediately got lost in his intense stare. They sat that way for at least a minute, neither one able or willing to break the magic created in that moment. Eventually she shut her eyes tight and sighed. She didn't know what she was doing anymore. "God Paul!" she ran a hand over her weary face.

"What?"

Her not-so-amused chuckle was not the answer he was expecting. "I need to fly to Chicago this weekend to meet with a client. My brother can't go because he promised his kids that he would take them camping. And you know what I was thinking about?" she asked, almost to herself.

Paul frowned and shook his head. He shrugged his shoulders and waited until she stopped staring at the ground and looked right at him.

"I wasn't thinking about staying home and spending time with my family. No. Instead I was thinking about the fact that being in Chicago meant that I wasn't going to be here so I couldn't see you."

He let her words wash over and couldn't stop the happy feeling engulfed him as a result. "Really?" he asked, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Yes, really and it's not right!" she cried. "Jesus. What are we doing here, Paul?" she pulled her hand free and threw it into the air in exasperation. "What are we _doing_?"

"I don't know," he answered simply. "But whatever it is and despite what you think, it feels right to me. Steph I..."

"Don't." What was he going to say? God help her if it was those three little words she would die. He couldn't love her, he just couldn't'.

"Stop it! Stop hiding from the truth," he spoke over her, his hand taking hers again and squeezing softly. "Listen, I'm just as confused as you are. But don't tell me this doesn't feel good, otherwise I know you wouldn't be here."

She couldn't answer him. She couldn't even look at him because he was right. It felt better than good. It felt wonderful. And she didn't want it to stop.

"When are you going to Chicago?"

"Huh?"

Paul waved his hand and smiled. "Just bear with me. When are you going?"

She looked at him in confusion. What was he getting at? "I leave Friday evening and I'm back on Monday evening. Why?"

"Well, how about I take a trip out there myself?" He continued at her shocked expression. "I have a sister firm out there that could do with a check up. This weekend is as good a time as any I say." He smiled at her and chuckled at her almost horrified expression.

"You can't be serious?" Her heart was thumping in her chest. Was he really suggesting what she thought he was? An entire weekend together in a different city with no husbands, no jobs, no kids. Just them.

His expression turned soft and he turned to face her completely. "I'm deadly serious. I can't bear the thought of not being with you this week. It kills me."

"Paul..."

He held out his hand and cut her off. "What do you say?"

She lingered over the question for a moment or two even when she already knew the answer the second he had asked. Feeling emboldened by the utter tension surrounding them, she leaned forward and kissed him, her lips pressing against his deeply as she lost herself in the feel of him before reeling herself in and quickly pulling back. "See you in Chicago," she whispered. Her heat flipped at the huge smile that appeared on his face. He moved in for another kiss but she got to her feet and began walking away. She could feel his eyes burning into her back as she left him, a huge smile of her own in place.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N** - Ya, here there be smut. Although it's somewhat of a different kind this time I guess lol.

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The tension in the room was palpable. Stephanie would be sweating if she wasn't so damn cold. They didn't call it the Windy City for nothing. Her eyes stuck to Mr Jackson as he read over the contracts. For whatever reason he didn't seem very happy to see her. Maybe something happened between him and her father. It would be just like him to send her completely unawares into situations like this just so he could see how she dealt with it. Life lessons he called them. She wondered what his reaction would be to the mess she was currently in with regards to her marriage. Dear old daddy wouldn't be so quick to figure that one out. But she couldn't think about that right now because that meant that she would be thinking about Paul and would therefore lose her focus. As if on cue, Mr Jackson lifted his gaze from the hefty paper bundle in front of him and looked her in the eye.

"Well Mrs McMahon, everything seems to be in order here. But I want to look over everything once again with my attorneys."

She effectively hid her smile. That was usually a good sign. "Absolutely Mr Jackson. Take all the time you need. If you have any questions I'm here until Monday."

"Great," he smiled as he rose from his chair and stuck out his hand. "It's Friday night, why don't we get out of here and head home. I'll contact you to set up a meeting for Monday. Jonathon," he called for his assistant who promptly opened the door. "He'll see you out Mrs McMahon. See you Monday."

"That's perfect. Have a good weekend!" she called over her shoulder. She followed Jonathon out the office door and to the elevators. "I can take it from here, thanks."

"Have a good evening, ma'am."

She sighed with relief. It was over. Now all she had to do was wait for his call to set up the meeting for Monday and they were good to go. She was confident that he would sign. Their proposal was flawless and to be honest, he would be a fool if he didn't. But people worked in mysterious ways. She absently began to run over the details of the contract in her head as she reached the street and hailed a cab. Before she knew it she was back at the hotel standing outside her door. Her hands fiddled with the key card and she was pleasantly surprised when it worked on the first try. Damn little things never worked. She walked inside and dumped her bag and coat on the back of the sofa. She had wrangled her dad into paying for a suite.

"I hope you aren't tired."

She immediately spun on her heel at the sound of his voice behind her. A slow smile spread across her face as she took him in. He was here. He was really here and looking all kinds of sexy in his dark grey suit and black shirt. But how the hell did he get in her room? "How did you get in here?" she asked softly as she tentatively began to approach him.

Paul chuckled. "I bribed the receptionist."

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"What would surprise you?" he asked cryptically.

She stopped just before she reached him and tilted her head to the side. "I don't know. Maybe I don't need to be surprised right now."

"Oh?" he said simply, walking closer to her so that they were almost touching. His arms slowly wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. "What do you need then?"

His whispered voice and the feel of his arms around her, softly palming her hips made her melt inside. It was him. She needed him. Not wasting another second, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips, her body pressing against him tightly. He tugged her tighter and kissed her back just as passionately, his tongue stealing into her mouth. She moaned and wound her tongue with his, feeling her body start to ignite at the passion in his kiss. So help her but she loved the way he kissed her, possessively like he owned her and passionately like he revered her. They stayed locked in their heated embrace until they could no longer breathe and had to break apart. He pulled his lips away but kept his face close, his forehead resting against hers. "Good answer," he whispered.

She smiled, her hands playing with the soft golden strands at the back of his neck. "So..."

"So?"

They stared at each other in silence before breaking into gentle laughter. He pecked her lips once more. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes actually, I am."

"You want to get dinner?"

Her heart flipped. Was this a date? Well technically it couldn't be a date considering that they had already slept together several times, not to mention the feelings already tangled up in whatever was going on between them. None the less, it would be the first time they actually got to sit down and spend time together freely with no distractions. In that regard it pretty much was a date.

"Steph?"

"Oh! Yes, let's go for dinner."

Paul smiled at her and moved to grab his coat. He watched as she lifted her coat back off the sofa and pulled it on, and then reached for her bag. "Ready?" When she nodded her head he took her hand and entwined their fingers before leading them out the door, down the hall and into the elevator.

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know. How about we just walk until we find something?"

"That sounds perfect," she sighed, cuddling closer to him as they walked into the night. She felt like she was floating. The bright city lights cast a romantic backdrop as they just walked, comfortable in the other's silence. They walked a few blocks and passed a few dingy looking bars until a quaint little Italian place popped up. Paul looked at her for approval and when she nodded they went inside.

"For two, sir?"

"Yes please," he replied to the concierge and followed him through the restaurant towards the back left. He waited until Stephanie sat down before joining her and opening his menu.

"Can I get you some wine?"

"Your choice," Paul smiled softly at her.

She smiled back and glanced quickly over the wine menu before deciding on an old bottle of Merlot. They quickly placed their food order too and within no time two steaming plates of pasta and a bowl of bread were almost finished as they ate through their meal and enjoyed their time together. Sipping on the last remnants of wine in her glass, she noticed the amused little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "What's so funny?"

"We've finally had our first date after sleeping together I don't know how many times beforehand," he chuckled.

"Well this isn't exactly conventional, is it?" her voice trailed off as the reason for their unconventional relationship crossed her mind. Her eyes travelled to her wedding ring and she sighed. She had completely and totally forgotten all about her husband. How could it be so easy? As she lifted her head and caught his intense stare she knew the reason why. He was all she could think about and when they were together, it was as if they were the only two people on earth.

Paul held her gaze and reached out to take her hand across the table. He conveniently covered her left hand, blocking out the sparkling diamond and golden band. "Conventional or not, it's still real." He wanted her to forgot all about her husband. It stabbed at his chest every time he thought about it. And tonight he would do everything in his power to make her forget. He had to. "You know, I never intended for this to happen. When I saw you in the bar that night, all I wanted was one night and I'd never see you again. But..."

She was hanging off his every word, desperate to hear what he was going to say and terrified of what it might be all at the same time. "But what?"

"But something happened that has never happened before. I just had to see you again. And again." He raised her hand and rested it on his chest, right over his heart. "You've gotten in here, Steph."

She could feel her eyes welling up as he spoke. Good God if he wasn't tearing her up inside.

His large hand covered hers as he stared deeply into her eyes. "And I'm completely powerless to stop it."

"Paul..." she trailed off. She couldn't even describe how deeply his words had touched her. She glanced at the table for a moment to collect her thoughts and when she lifted her gaze to reach his, she felt an overwhelming need to be as close to him as possible. "Can we leave?"

His response was a simple nod. The only time he broke eye contact was to ask for the cheque and to pay it. As quickly as possible they walked back to the hotel and eventually stumbled through the door, lips locked tightly together. Her mind was reeling. She had never felt such intense emotion before. Every fibre of her being needed to feel his touch. She moaned as he began to kiss her neck, his hands tugging at the buttons of her shirt. Within seconds she stood in nothing but her underwear. His fingers pulled at the clasp of her bra and he pushed it off her shoulders. It fell forgotten to the floor as he picked her up, the feel of her breasts crushed against his chest driving him crazy. Their mouths joined together again, tongues winding and she began to buck her hips against him, desperately needing him to hurry. He walked them to the bedroom and gently dropped her on the bed. He kicked off his shoes, removed his socks, pulled his pants and boxers down and eventually whipped his shirt off.

"Jesus," she muttered under her breath. It was the first time she actually _really_ looked at him and what a sight it was. But what made her breath catch was the look in his eyes. They were black with desire and...something else. Her eyes shut and she pushed that feeling aside for the time being. It was too complicated and she had no time to think as he advanced up the bed to lie on top of her, his hardness pressing against her thigh and creating even more moisture between her legs. Her eyes remained shut tight as his mouth began to trail over her. First to her breasts and nipples which he sucked endlessly, driving her crazy. By the time he moved between her legs she was crying out for him. He slowly pulled her panties down her legs, his hands caressing her smooth calves before he moved back up and looked her in the eye.

Paul swore he felt his heart get stuck in his throat. She was just perfect, lying there before him with her legs open offering herself to him, lips swollen from their kisses and eyes hazy with her desire. They locked with his and a gentle smile tugged at her mouth, her hand reaching up to caress his face. And in that moment he knew he was in love with her. He felt it in his heart and every time she looked at or touched him. "You're so beautiful," he whispered ever so softly while his hand smoothed the hair from her face. Her heart flipped in her chest. Something in his voice, in his eyes got to her. He looked so serious. His eyes were staring right through her, right into her soul. In all her life she had never felt anything like this before. She swore she could feel the connection between them, it was right there, drawing them together. His face began to move closer and she moaned in pure relief when his lips finally found hers once again. The urge to have him close was becoming unbearable. She needed to feel him.

"Paul...I need you...I need you so much..." she panted heavily. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head when she felt his fingers between her legs. They rubbed against her and she cried out. His hand moved slowly. He watched her, his chest tightening every time her hips bucked and she thrashed against the bed. Then her eyes would half open and catch his gaze causing it to get even tighter. God he wanted this woman with everything in him. He needed her like the very air he breathed. Swiftly removing his fingers, he lined himself up at her entrance and gently grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. They maintained eye contact as he pushed forward and finally entered her.

"Oh God," she hissed, not able to stop her eyes from shutting at the overwhelming ripple of pleasure that shot throughout her body.

He moaned heavily, the feel of his length buried within her too much to bare. He held there, needing a moment to steady himself before he pulled out and thrust forward again. They moaned in unison as he continued to push. His movements were slow. This was nothing like any other time they had been together before. This was so much different. They weren't having sex, they were making love. As Stephanie grabbed his head and pulled his lips to hers she knew that. And she didn't care. This felt like the most natural and beautiful thing in the world.

"Jesus Steph," he groaned through gritted teeth. He felt like he was on fire with pleasure. Never in his life had he experience anything like this before. His hand caressed her face and his head leaned against her as he continued to thrust, slowly and gradually picking up the pace. His breathing was deep and heavy and it tugged at her chest. She could hear, see and feel how badly he needed her and it made her feel so wanted. Her hips bucked at him wildly when she felt a sharp pang. She cried out loudly as he connected with the right spot over and over.

"Faster...faster...Oh God don't stop..." She was becoming delirious with pleasure. He could feel it too. Her walls were getting tighter and tighter. She was getting close.

He kissed her hard as a feeling of desperation washed over them both. He began to thrust faster, deeper. Her hips pushed back at him with everything she had. Her hand was grasping his hair tightly while the other clawed at his back. They became frantic, bodies pushing and heaving in a torrent of ecstasy.

"Steph...Jesus," he panted loudly. His body was dying for release but he held it back, needing her to let go first.

Stephanie couldn't see straight. Tiny dots blurred her vision as she desperately sucked him in, her hips bucking with wanton abandon; trying to pull him right through her she needed it that badly. "Paul...oh God...oh _God_!" Her whine turned to a high pitched squeal as the powerful spasms began to overtake her. She began to shudder recklessly. He kept pushing, thrusting with the little energy had left, finally pushing her over the edge and he with her. She gripped his hair tightly, her knuckles white as she arched off the bed and into his chest, crying out loudly at the sheer intensity of her orgasm. Paul pressed forward one final time until he lost it completely and exploded with a heavy groan, his hand clutching the back of her head, the other pressed firmly against the pillow. He collapsed on top of her and tried to catch his breath. He was completely and utterly spent, mentally and physically. He had never experienced anything like that before. It was because he'd never loved anybody before. But he loved her. So help him he loved her with all he had and he knew she loved him too. There was no way they could have shared an experience like the one they just did if they didn't feel the same. After a while he lazily tried to move away but she pulled him back. His hand dropped to her hip, his fingers stroking her skin absently.

"Don't go," she whispered as she moved her hands to his back and held him close. She felt overwhelmed. And scared to death at how deeply her feelings ran for this man. A tear trickled down her cheek as the realization hit her smack in the face. She was in love with him.

He gently shifted to the side so he wasn't squashing her to the bed and half spooned her. "I'm not going anywhere," he mumbled into her neck. He felt completely at peace and could only smile when she shifted slightly and then cuddled against him. Her hand found his and their fingers entwined. He kissed her neck once more then her cheek and finally her lips. She deepened it and their tongues moved slowly together. When they eventually broke apart, he pulled her even closer if possible and buried his face into her neck. This was a perfect moment. They both drifted to sleep, neither thinking of the consequences of what just happened but instead just enjoying the moment.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N** - These two just can't seem to get along lol. Well not all the time anyways. Hope you are still enjoying this.

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Stephanie woke to the soft feel of something running along her forearm. Her eyes slowly flickered open, staring up at the ceiling. She felt a heavy weight draped across her waist, a warm body nestled close to her back and a leg tangled with hers and the sheets of the messy bed. God, she couldn't remember the last time she had woken up like this. It felt so...perfect. An absent sigh escaped from her parted lips and she jumped slightly at the feel of a prickly beard rubbing against her neck.

"You're up."

Rolling to her back she came face to face with Paul and couldn't help but smile at the amused smirk that was plastered on his face. "What?"

He shrugged his shoulders and propped his head on his hand as he lay sideward, his other hand staying firmly around her. "Nothing. It's just, well, it's almost 3pm. We've pretty much slept all day."

She glanced at the clock before a sly smirk of her own appeared. "Well sleeping wasn't the only thing we got up to," she murmured into his chest, placing a teasing kiss against his throat before pulling back.

"Nope," he chuckled, letting his hand drift from her waist to her hip, over the curve of her behind and back up again. "It sure as hell wasn't." His hand quickly came up to cup her chin as he leaned down and pressed his mouth against hers, kissing her languidly.

Stephanie let out a soft moan at the feel of his tongue mingling with hers and let her hands run over the muscles in his back. She wouldn't mind spending the whole damn day in this bed. Actually scrap that, she could happily live here. Her mouth fell into a pout as he slowly pulled away.

"Just so you know, I have no problem staying right here and continuing this but I need food! You have worn me out."

She just laughed at him and pulled him down to her for a quick kiss before pushing him away and tugging the sheets around her body. "Let's go eat something then."

Paul lay back on the bed with a slight frown on his face. "You don't need the sheet you know."

She turned to find him lying there stark naked and burst out laughing at his ridiculous expression. But God damn if the man wasn't a fucking tease. "I can see that," she chuckled, her laughter slowly dying down. "But I thought you were hungry? Don't you want to eat?"

"I guess so."

"Then move it! The sooner we eat the sooner we can come back and..." She let her sentence trail off as she promptly dropped the sheet to the floor. His mouth dropped wide open and his eyes followed her every movement, hungrily taking her in as she walked to the bathroom and shut the door. A second or two passed before she stuck her head out and motioned for him to get a move on.

"I'm going! I'm going!"

* * *

For around the millionth time that day, Stephanie sighed dreamily and sipped at her wine as she stared into the night. They had went for a very late lunch slash early dinner and had flirted and cuddled the whole way through. It had felt so surreal but wonderful at the same time. And now here she was, standing out on the balcony of her suite with Paul practically engulfing her from behind, his lips playing all kinds of havoc around her ear and neck. When they were together like this it was as if they drifted into their own little world where they were the only two people and nothing else mattered. There were no complications, no husbands, and no families. She quickly focused her attention on the feelings his touch was creating inside her instead of thinking about reality. It would only spoil the little time she had left here. Her body tingled as he continued to kiss and nip at her neck, his lips finally working over the sweet spot he found and tortured last night. Her eyes slid closed and her head dropped to one side, allowing him better access. He took full advantage, burying himself in her soft skin. One hand gripped her waist while the other started to blaze a trail towards her breasts. She was panting heavily by the time it finally reached its destination. Her head was spinning and she reached behind her, wrapping her arm around his neck and clutching the soft hair there. His lips instantly met hers in a torrid kiss, their mouths open and tongues tangling together over and over. He reached for the wine glass that was still in her other hand and snatched it away, setting it on the thick banister of the balcony railing before bringing his hand back to her breasts. He began to open the buttons on her blouse and quickly slipped his hand inside to fondle the soft skin not concealed by her white lace bra. They were both completely caught up in each other and things seemed to be heading down a familiar route. Just as she turned in his arms and pressed herself flush against him, the shrill ringing of a phone drifted out from inside the suite. It took a moment to register with either one of them until they finally broke apart. Stephanie's lips were tingling and her body was on fire. So help her but she could kill whoever was on the other end of that phone right now. Her anger quickly dissipated when she realized that it was her cell phone. Paul removed his hand from her shirt and stepped back, motioning for her to go inside and answer.

"It's yours, right?"

She could only nod in response before she walked inside and instantly spotted her phone on the bedside table. Ignoring the strewn sheets on the floor and messy bed, she quickly snatched it up and brought it to her ear, not even needing to check the caller ID to find out who it was. "Hey."

"Hey. How are things in the Windy City? Did you close the deal?"

She felt a nervous anticipation as she walked out of the bedroom and took a seat on the sofa. She didn't know if she could talk to her husband while standing in the room where she had just screwed the hell out of another man for pretty much a whole day. "Oh, things are great. I haven't quite got him to sign yet but I think he will. He said he's going to leave it until Monday."

"Monday? So what are you going to do for the rest of the trip then? It's only Saturday," Robert asked, his eyebrow raising curiously.

Stephanie tried to sound as normal as possible. "I've just been kicking around the city, using the hotel spa and the like. It's nice to have a few days away to myself."

"Yeah I'll bet. Although I only wish I could be there with you." There was no hiding the desire in his voice. "I think we could both use some time alone together. Maybe I should fly out there to see you," he joked innocently; completely unaware of the near panic attack he almost gave his wife. The mere thought of him turning up here while she was with Paul scared the crap out of her.

"Ha!" She half laughed before catching herself and trying to sound normal. "I'd love that but I really don't think it's possible." Her eyes drifted to Paul who was now standing in front of her holding an empty wine glass in one hand and a half full one in the other. She didn't know whose was who and he didn't seem to care. His face wore an unreadable expression and as she continued to converse with Robert on the phone, it only got tighter and tighter until he quickly gulped back the whole glass of wine without flinching and stalked off to the mini bar. Funny how whenever they got slapped with a nice dose of the real world everything seemed to change. Gone was the happy and flirtatious banter. Instead it was replaced by awkward stares and everything else in between.

"Where's Jenny?"

"Oh, I'm just waiting for her to come out of her piano class. Then I thought we'd go for some Chucky Cheese."

A smile that was only connected to her daughter crossed Stephanie's face. "I'm sure she'll love that. Although it's a little late to be eating dinner." It had been dark outside for a few hours now. Why were they eating so late?

"Yeah. Her tutor had to push the class back so we're having a late dinner. If she's not too tired of course."

"Somehow I don't think she will..."

"Oh, there she is now! Listen, I'll give you a call tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too," she said, not quite sure if she fully meant it or not. She hung up the phone and just sat there staring off into space until she heard Paul walking towards her. He stopped on the other side of the coffee table and when their eyes locked together she swore she could see that something had snapped inside of him.

"Do you?" Paul asked seriously. He couldn't believe that she could stand there and tell her asshole husband that she loved him after she had spent all day in his bed.

Stephanie heard the hint of anger in his tone and got to her feet as she answered. "Do I what?"

"Do you love him? Because you sure as hell have a funny fucking way of showing it."

"You really want to do this now?"

He choked back a sarcastic laugh as his eyes burned right through her. "What choice do I have, huh? You're standing there telling him you love him while you're here with me!"

"What do you want me to do, Paul? Not say anything and then have him wondering why his own wife won't tell him that she loves him back?" She couldn't believe he was being like this.

"Well then what are we doing here, Stephanie?"

Fuck him. If he wanted to play this game then she could do it too. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

"I'll tell you. You're in Chicago spreading your legs for me while your husband is back in New York holding his fucking balls and getting played. That's what's going on here." He was fuming and all because she was speaking to her husband. He couldn't fucking stand that she was married to him, to anybody. He wanted to be the only man in her life.

"FUCK YOU!" she practically screamed at him. How dare he say that to her. Even if it was actually true, she wouldn't stand for being spoken to like that. She grabbed his jacket off the back of the side chair and threw it at him. "Get out."

Paul could only laugh at her antics. It seemed like she couldn't handle the truth. "I seem to remember a similar conversation to this one, Steph. And we all know how that turned out." He spied the desk in the corner and made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "Oh look, a desk! You want to take this over there?"

"You son of a bitch. I fucking..."

And once again during the middle of one of their fights, she didn't get to go any further for as soon as she opened her mouth he had somehow leaped over the coffee table, grabbed her and pulled her to him in a fierce kiss. Her animalistic need for him kicked in automatically and she began tearing at his shirt, desperately needing to feel his skin. He helped her by ripping it off before doing the same to hers. Within seconds her had her completely topless and in his arms as he blindly walked them both to the bedroom. As they fell into another heated night of passion, the events that had lead to their fight had been completely forgotten about. But how much longer could they go on like this before it was too much?


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N** - I have actually mapped out the rest of this fic. I know what it going to happen and I know how to structure the chapters so hopefully things will get rolling. Everything is free time dependent though so don't hold your breath as usual, ha!

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The house was dark. She quietly pulled her small suitcase through the door and decided to leave it just off to the right. Dragging it up the stairs would be noisy. She pulled off her heels and with the black items dangling between her fingers, tiptoed up the stairs. A sole ray of light shone through the landing window, illuminating her tired face as she headed immediately for her daughter's bedroom. Jenny was fast asleep inside her bed, all cuddled up with her favorite bear. A soft smile crossed Stephanie's face as she just stood for a moment and took her in. God, she really did have a beautiful and wonderful little girl. She had missed her so much and desperately fought the urge to pull her in for a tight hug. Instead she settled for a lingering kiss on the forehead before she whispered goodnight and crept out of the room. There was only one place left to go now. She inhaled deeply and made her way inside her own bedroom. It was practically pitch black and she frowned slightly. Her husband was forever closing the blinds shut and she was always running after him opening them again. She guessed he took full advantage of her not being around for a few days and did things his way. Although how could she get angry at him? She was off taking care of herself and it certainly had nothing to do with blinds. As she thought about her sordid weekend getaway she couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of all out guilt that encompassed her as she stood in her room and looked at her husband sprawled across their bed. Apart from their fight on Saturday, he had hardly crossed her mind. She had been too consumed in Paul and what he made her feel. After their little spat, which of course started over her husband, they had made the same type of wild, almost animalistic love that had become customary to her now. And she loved every second of it. She couldn't get enough. And when their hunger had been satisfied they switched to a slower pace, taking the time to explore each other all over again. She couldn't get enough of that either. Then there was the way he looked at her and the things he said. When she had awoken in his arms on Sunday morning he had been watching her intently. She could see his emotions written all over his face and it scared her to death. But that was nothing compared to what he uttered next. The scene had been on constant replay in her mind.

* * *

"You look so serious," she smirked, playfully bumping his hip in an attempt to lighten the mood. She certainly wasn't expecting to be waking up to this.

"I'm sorry," Paul said sincerely, his hand reaching out to smooth her cheek. "I'm sorry for the way I acted last night."

She felt a tug on her heart strings. She shifted fully to face him and her expression mirrored his. "It's OK. Let's just forget about it."

"It's not that simple," he half laughed. His eyes dropped to the crisp white sheets for a moment before latching on to her gaze again. "I can't stand the fact that you're married to him. I can't stand the fact that you're married at all. It kills me every time I think about it." He stopped and took a deep breath to calm down. He didn't want to spill his guts here or scare her off. He felt like he had already said too much.

"Paul," she whispered, almost in shock. She could see the torment in his eyes. What was he getting at here and did she really want to know?

He shook his head and smiled as best he could. "No, you're right. Let's just forget about it. We only have one day left and I don't want to spend it fighting with you."

* * *

A cold shiver ran down her spine as she relived it once again. He hated that she was married, absolutely hated it. And that could only mean one thing; that he had developed feelings for her, feelings stronger than a mere 'fuck buddy' although she already knew that. Deep down she knew that they were more than that. She would be lying to herself otherwise. Jesus she didn't know what to do. She didn't know what was right anymore.

"Hey, you're back."

Robert's sleepy voice brought her back to reality and she managed a small smile as she watched him slowly get up from the bed and walk towards her.

"Robert! What are you doing up so late?"

"I wasn't really sleeping, just dozing. I was waiting for you." He pulled her into a tight hug and buried his face in her neck. "Damn I missed you so much." He began to feather her throat with small kisses. "How was your trip?"

Stephanie sighed in desperation although she was sure it came out sounding like a sigh of appreciation to him. She knew what he wanted. It was evident in the way he was pressed against her so tightly. They hadn't slept together in months and she had rebuked his advances for the past few weeks telling him that she just wasn't ready. As his hand began to run across her stomach she knew that excuse wasn't going to fly anymore. "It was great. We managed to get him signed. Dad is thrilled," she answered breathily as his touch awakened something inside of her, transporting her to another reality. Suddenly she wasn't standing in her bedroom with her husband's arms around her. Instead she was back in the hotel room in Chicago with Paul, his strong arms wrapped tightly around her as he lathered her neck and shoulders with his kisses.

Robert smiled to himself when he heard her let out a long moan. He hadn't purposefully waited up for her just to have sex but the second her saw her walking through the door he wanted her. He had really missed her this weekend and knew that she missed him too. He could tell by the way she was starting to grind herself back into him. Maybe it was time that they really got their relationship back on track. He trailed his lips from her neck to her cheek and finally to her lips, capturing them in a passionate kiss. He delighted when she turned in his arms and began to kiss him fiercely. When they could no longer breathe he broke the kiss and panted heavily. "Fuck baby I need you. These past few months have been hell, I..."

He didn't get to finish the sentence as Stephanie pulled him into another fierce kiss and began to undo the buttons on his shirt. Her mind was still stuck in Chicago. He wasn't Robert anymore. He was Paul and she wanted him badly. With the image of her lover firmly planted in her mind, Stephanie was able to drift away. In the back of her head she knew that she was with her husband right now but for the sake of her sanity she refused to accept it because she knew if she did then this would not be happening right now. The truth was, she had no desire to sleep with her husband ever again. How could she? Paul made her feel things nobody ever had before. He was like an addiction she just couldn't shake and things had only served to get more heated, more animalistic and more passionate the more time they spent together. Her desire had only grown stronger. If she wasn't in such denial she would realize that he was it for her. But she wasn't prepared to accept that little fact right now and so she ignored it, just like she ignored what was happening at this very moment. Instead she retreated into her own little world where everything was perfect and the complications of reality didn't exist. At least this way nothing would come to a head and nobody would get hurt. Well, that's what she told herself anyway.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N** - Thanks for the reviews to the last chapter guys. Things are starting to heat up here. I hope you enjoy the ride!

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"Mommy? Can you turn up the radio please? I like this song!"

Stephanie smiled over her shoulder and reached for the dial on the dashboard. The sweet tune of her daughter's voice filtered through to the front of the car as she sang along with the popular song. It was Justin Beiber and apparently everyone in Jenny's class thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. She rolled her eyes slightly and turned to find her husband looking at her fondly. Inwardly she cringed. She could barely look at him after what had happened between them when she got back from Chicago last night. She hated herself. Robert was none the wiser. He thought they were really getting things back on track in their marriage. If only he knew.

"I will never say never…."

Robert smirked and looked at his daughter in the rearview mirror before glancing back at the road. "I think we might have a little pop star on our hands, Steph. Our daughter can sing! You hear that?"

Jenny giggled and smiled bashfully at her father. Stephanie enjoyed their interaction. No matter what was going on in their marriage, she could never fault her husband when it came to Jenny. He had been everything she could have asked for in a father to her child. It's just a shame that he didn't seem to be everything she needed in a husband. She felt the familiar dull throbbing return to her temples. And there she went again. Jesus, anytime she thought about this mess she ended up with a headache.

"Hey, you OK?"

His concerned question forced her to lift her head and smile as brightly as she could. "I'm fine!" She didn't want to worry him. God knows he would be fawning all over her and she didn't want that, not today. When she had woken this morning her father had called to remind them about dinner at their house that night. Funny how she was never told in the first place. She wanted and needed everything to be completely normal. She didn't need her mother's suspicions to be raised any further.

"Are you sure?" He reached across and rubbed her knee affectionately.

"I'm sure, honey. Now please, start concentrating on the road or you're going to kill us before we get there."

"Alright! Alright!" he groaned playfully, turning his attention back to the large window of the car just like he was told. He felt so happy. Last night and this morning, everything just seemed to be falling back into place. They hadn't fought in months and he could tell how badly she had missed him. He didn't ever remember her being so desperate when they made love before. It was as if she simply could not get enough of him. She had clawed his back so hard she had left a few marks. When he saw them this morning he couldn't help but grin. He was winning her back, he was winning his wife back. A contented sigh escaped from his mouth. He snuck a sneaky glance at her one last time and couldn't stop the silly grin from crossing his face before turning back and concentrating on getting them to her parent's house in one piece.

* * *

"DECLAN! JENNY! DINNER'S READY!"

The immediate rush of quick footsteps bounding down the stairs was heard as soon as Linda had opened her mouth. Everybody loved Grandma's cooking. The elder McMahon smiled when she saw the two young faces burst into the dining room and eagerly sit in their seats. "I guess you guys are hungry, huh?"

"I'm hungry!"

"Me too!" added Jenny excitedly. Her eyes grew wide when she saw her grandfather walk through the swinging door with a huge turkey on a tray. It was almost as big as a Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey. "Wow!"

Robert smiled at his daughter and ruffled her hair as he sat down to her left. "Wow indeed! Are you hungry for turkey, Jenny? Because that one's just for you."

Her eyes grew even wider if possible as she took in the extremely large bird that was now resting in the middle of the table. "I have to eat all that?"

"Yep."

"Do I really?" she asked hesitantly as she turned to her mother.

Stephanie bit back her laugh. She looked traumatized. She gently leaned over and swot her husband on the arm. "No, sweetie, you don't have to eat it all. Daddy's just being silly."

Both parents laughed at the utter glare the young girl shot her father. That was a trait she most definitely inherited from her mother. As the rest of the food was distributed to the table and everyone began to take their seats, Linda sat at one end of the table and watched on with a smile. Everything between Stephanie and Robert seemed to be just fine. Maybe she was being paranoid. Or maybe they had just worked everything out. She felt contentment rush through her mind until, for one split second she looked into her daughter's eyes and saw it. The content feeling was quickly replaced with a deep worry. She didn't know what that look was but she didn't like it one damn bit. As her daughter's eyes connected with hers across the table, she saw her beautiful face mask whatever was plaguing her with a forced smile. Linda inwardly cursed. She should know better than to think she could fool her own mother.

"Alright! If everybody's ready I think we can dig in!" Vince said proudly as he stood at the other end of the table. He thanked his son as he passed him the carving knife and proceeded to cut into the juicy white meat. Linda forced a smile of her own and decided to wait until after dinner. But that's as long as her daughter was getting. As soon as these plates were cleared she was hauling her into the damn garage if she had too and they were going to talk about this.

* * *

The clanking sound of plates and cutlery being passed into the kitchen filled the dining room of the McMahon household. Everybody was thoroughly stuffed and pleased from the delicious meal, well, all but one. Linda had watched her daughter and son in law like a hawk. Robert seemed happy and oblivious to any potential problems while Stephanie almost looked nervous. Why would she be nervous? And how the hell was Robert not noticing his wife's behavior? Yes it was very subtle but for God sakes they had been married for four years and together longer than that. Surely he would be able to spot if something was up.

"Here, let me have that," Marissa said as she reached for the plate in her son's hand. "Why don't you and Jenny go watch TV while we clean up?"

"Actually that's fine, Marissa. All of you can go start the movie. I'll clean up in here," Linda smiled sweetly, almost too sweetly. "Stephanie, you don't mind giving me a hand do you?"

Stephanie's eyes narrowed slightly as she slowly nodded her head and got to her feet. "Sure mom." She should have known her mother was up to something with that tone. She urged her daughter over to the sofa and acted as normal as possible when her husband pecked her lips. When he walked away she turned to find Linda standing there holding a stack of plates with a curious expression on her face. "Kitchen. Now." Linda uttered sternly. Everyone was out of earshot and she was completely ready to find out just what was going on.

"What the hell is wrong with you tonight, mom? You're acting…."

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you, Stephanie? And don't you dare lie to me. I know something is going on with you and Robert so spill it."

Stephanie's blue eyes widened in shock at her mother's outburst. Although why should she be surprised? She had felt that something was up the second her mom had ushered everyone away from the dinner table except her. She sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over her face. Now was not the time for this. "Nothing is going on. Robert and I are fine. We're fine."

There was a brief moment of tension filled silence before Linda walked closer and looked her right in the eye. "You think you can lie to your own mother after all this time? I know you, Stephanie. And I know that something isn't right. God dammit why won't you talk to me?"

"Because there's nothing to talk about ok! Just drop it," Stephanie cried in exasperation. She wasn't prepared to be blindsided like this and she sure as hell wasn't prepared to talk about what was really going on either. She set the dish she was holding down on the counter and moved to walk out of the kitchen when her mother swiftly moved in front of the door blocking her exit. "What, you're going to lock me in?"

"If that's what it takes to get you to talk to me then yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Stephanie I'm worried about you, we all are. Your father, Shane, me, we all notice the difference in you and while they are shrugging it off as work, I know it's more than that." Her tone softened as she stepped forward and placed her hand on her daughter's forearm. "Please just tell me what's going on, Stephanie, please. I just want to know that you're OK." Another silence filled the room and Linda was ready to switch to tough love again until she saw the tears start to gather in those big blue pools. She immediately pulled her daughter into a tight hug and rubbed her back, any thoughts of tough love quickly gone to the wayside. "Oh honey, what is it? Come on, you need to open up."

Stephanie felt like she was choking. God damn her mom for prompting this. At that moment she just felt like she couldn't bear her heavy secret any longer. She pulled back from her mother's embrace and wiped at her puffy eyes. "I….I can't…it's just so hard…." If she did what she was planning to do it would be the first time she had ever said it out loud. She didn't know if she was fully prepared for the reality of the situation once she wasn't the only person who knew anymore. She took a deep breath and looked into her mother's concerned and caring eyes and knew that she had to do this. It was eating her alive and she just couldn't bear the brunt anymore. "I…..please don't freak out when I say this…."

"I won't, I promise."

She took another deep breath and steadied her nerves. "I've been having an affair…..for the past few months…I….Oh God….." A fresh batch of tears welled in her eyes and she moved to embrace her mother once again only there were no arms there to catch her.

Linda was absolutely stunned. "You're having an affair?" she asked, almost in a whisper. This was the absolute last thing she had ever expected. To say she was shell shocked was an understatement.

Stephanie nodded her head and bit her lip hard. God damn it. Her mother looked shocked but underneath that she could see the disappointment beginning to show.

"I…I don't know what to say, Stephanie….how?"

"We had a huge fight one night, we had been fighting for weeks," she began. "I left the house and ended up in a bar. I had…..well I had a little bit to drink and…there was a guy there. One thing led to another and…."

Suddenly the pieces started to fall into place. That was the night Stephanie had lied to Robert about her whereabouts. "You said that you've been having an affair? How many times have you seen this guy? Are you still seeing him?"

"Does that really matter?"

"Of course it matters!" She absolutely could not believe what she was hearing right now. "What were you thinking, Stephanie? What about your husband? What about Jenny!" The disappointment she felt at the situation was only replaced by anger. She knew what it felt like to find out your partner had cheated. When Vince came clean to her all those years ago she had been devastated. Stephanie had given Vince such a hard time when she had found out. And now she had gone and done exactly the same thing herself. Like father like daughter. She glared into the teary blue eyes, any measure of sympathy long gone. "Are you still seeing him?"

"Mom, please!" Stephanie begged. She couldn't do this anymore. The walls were starting to close in.

"Are you still seeing him?"

Stephanie felt like screaming YES at the top of her lungs. She felt like screaming that yes she was still seeing him and that she was quite possibly in love with him and if she was being honest there was nothing quite possible about it. She _was_ in love with him.

"ARE YOU STILL SEEING HIM?" Linda snapped. When her answer was the sight of Stephanie's head bowing and her eyes shifting to the floor she only felt her anger intensify. She took a step closer and continued to glare. "You better call this thing off or tell Robert."

"Are you crazy?" Stephanie yelled, starting to get angry herself. "I can't tell him that I've been having an affair. For God sakes mom!"

"Well then you need to stop seeing him because if you don't, then I'll tell Robert. He doesn't deserve to be treated like this and neither does Jenny. God I'm so ashamed of you right now. I…..I…." She couldn't even finish her sentence as she paused for a moment and looked out the large bay window. She closed her eyes for a second before looking right back into her daughter's eyes. "Call it off."

Stephanie watched as her mother stormed out of the room. As soon as she was out of the door she immediately broke down, the tears spilling down her cheeks as she sobbed heavily. What the hall had she just done? And would her mother follow through with her ultimatum? At this point she was in too deep to walk away from Paul. But if she didn't then her mom would tell Robert and she couldn't have that either. It would crush him not to mention the effect of Jenny. As she sat at the kitchen table and rubbed at her eyes the sudden realization hit her like a smack in the face. She had to choose. She had to choose between spending the rest of her life with her daughter and the husband she didn't love anymore. Or….or she could take a risk and choose to leave Robert and be with Paul, the man she had fallen madly in love with. The only problem was, she had absolutely no idea what to do.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N** - First of all, thank you so much **Invisibly Stricken**. It's always great to come on and see that someone has taken the time to review a whole bunch of chapters lol. I appreciate your comments. Secondly, thanks to everybody else for reviewing too. It means a lot. Smut warning here, you've been warned. And yeah, Wrestlemania was awesome not to mention how HOT Trips was looking in that tux at the HOF. Stephanie was looking pretty darn stunning herself **cough** bitch **cough** lol.

* * *

She had been sitting in the same spot for the last thirty minutes or so. Her car was parked outside his apartment block. She had called and told him that she was coming over earlier today. He probably thought it was to spend time together, if only he knew why she had really come. She felt a fresh batch of tears sting the back of her eyes. God dammit. This shouldn't be so hard. She should be able to go in there, tell him it was over between them and be done with it. If she wanted to save her marriage and protect her daughter then that's what she had to do. But her head was in constant conflict with her heart. When she had made her decision earlier that day the sudden realization hit her like a smack in the face; she would have to live without him. It scared her. It scared her way more than she was willing to admit. She rubbed at her tired eyes and sighed. Part of her still refused to believe that she could have such strong feelings for him. But did she have them. She couldn't even lie to herself anymore. She was one hundred and ten percent in love with the man and she felt in her heart that he loved her too. It was clear as day when she looked into his beautiful and expressive eyes. It hadn't been spoken between them yet though. Maybe if she broke it off now it would save them both some heartache. With a deep sigh she opened the car door and headed inside the building, smiling at the watchman who she was sure knew her by now. Her visits were more than frequent. The elevator ride up to his apartment felt like forever. If the damn thing moved any slower she was afraid she would lose her nerve. She almost did as it pinged to a stop and she stepped out, coming to a heavy stop in front of his door.

"You can do this," she whispered to herself. It took about a minute for her to work up the courage to knock on the door. The second he answered she felt her resolve already starting to crumble.

"Hey, you made it," he said with a smile as he leaned down and kissed her softly. He took her hand and gently tugged her inside. "Come in."

Her heart was pounding in her chest at his simple affectionate touches. She had to do this quickly otherwise it wouldn't happen. As he took off her coat and led her into the dining room she suddenly realized that it wouldn't be happening at all. Her breath hitched in her throat at the beautiful sight in front of her. The bright city lights along with the two long stemmed candles were the only things lighting the room. A small table was sitting close to the ceiling to floor windows offering a spectacular view and it was loaded with a basket of bread and two half full wine glasses. A soft tune was playing in the background and she found herself completely speechless. He had done all of this and he had done it all for her.

"I hope you don't think it's too over the top," Paul laughed nervously. He had been panicking all day over whether or not she would like it. "I just wanted to do something special." He gently took her hand again and tugged her towards one of the chairs. "Do you like it?" Her silence was unnerving to say the least. But when she turned to him with watery eyes and that beautiful smile he knew he had hit the jackpot.

"I love it, Paul…really I….I can't believe you did all this," she stammered, truly grateful for the obvious effort he had put into tonight. Any and all thoughts of breaking things off had gone out the window. How could she do that to him? How could she do that when he had done all of this for her?

Paul smiled and cupped her face in his hands. "I did it to impress you," he smiled against her lips. "Is it working?"

"Oh it is most definitely working," she whispered back before capturing his mouth in a soft, lingering kiss. His hands quickly moved to wrap around her waist and he pulled her to him tightly, kissing her deeply and thanking his lucky stars that she was digging what he had done. Tonight was going to be special.

When they finally broke apart he ushered her into her seat before taking his own. "So, are you hungry?"

"I'm starving actually."

"Great!" He smiled, quickly getting to his feet again. "You'll be pleased to know that I've been slaving away at dinner all night long.

Stephanie took a sip of her wine and looked at him in surprise. "A man who is romantic and who knows how to cook? I really am impressed!"

"You should be!" he called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the kitchen.

She laughed for a moment and took in the breathtaking view of the city outside the window. It was like she was in another world. Quite frankly, that seemed to be the case any time she stepped foot in this apartment. It was just the two of them. There were no worries and no consequences. Her heart broke as she began to think about it and what she had originally come here to do. Her eyes slid shut and her palms became clammy. She should leave. She should get out of here as fast as possible before this went any further. For God sakes look what he had done for her! He clearly had no intentions of this ending. But it had to end. For the sake of her family it had to end. She couldn't help herself as a few tears began to trickle down her cheeks. She fiercely wiped them away not wanting him to see. This was a fucking disaster. Her eyes glanced at the kitchen door and then to the front door of the apartment. If she left now he wouldn't make it out on time to stop her. She almost went before the kitchen door swung open and he came strolling out with what looked to be a huge bowl of pasta. His smile lit up the room and once again she felt her insides start to swirl. The effect he had on her was insane. Even when she had first started dating her own husband he had never ever made her feel the way Paul did. That right there should have told her that maybe she was wrong to break this off. But any time that thought entered her head her mother's disappointed face combined with an image of her broken hearted husband and daughter wasn't far behind. The truth was that she was scared. She was too scared to follow her heart and instead had taken the easy option, or so she thought anyway.

"Hey," he said softly. "You OK?" He came to her side and his big hand rested on her thigh.

As her eyes connected with his she wasn't so sure that she would be making any decisions tonight. "I'm fine. Ummmmm, so what's in the bowl?"

He looked at her for a moment or two before deciding that was alright and sitting back in his seat. "Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo. You're gonna love it," he smiled again as he began to heap the hot food onto her plate.

"I'm sure I will."

As he continued to serve the food they quickly fell into the relaxed and easy conversation that they had developed in Chicago. He was so easy to talk to and she really enjoyed his company. He made her laugh, he made her smile. And when he looked at her he made her feel like she was special. How? She had no idea. But when their eyes connected everything else just disappeared.

* * *

An hour or so and two empty plates later, Stephanie found herself lying back on the sofa, her head thrown back in pleasure as he worked his fingers over her feet. She took a long sip of her wine and sighed. God damn that felt so good. His fingers were magical and not just when it came to her feet. She more than knew about that from previous experience.

"You look like you're really enjoying this massage," he chuckled lightly. Her face looked so relaxed.

She managed to lift her head up just enough so she could see him and smiled lazily. "That's because I _am_ really enjoying this massage."

"How about if I asked you to return the favor?"

She slowly sat up and her feet fell out of his hand to rest fully in his lap. "You want me to massage your feet?"

Paul smirked. "Well I'd like a massage but not necessarily on my feet."

"Oh? Well, how about here?" she teased playfully as she ran her foot over his crotch and delighted at his slight groan.

"I think you've got the right idea."

"Well maybe I should do something about it….." She set her wine glass on the floor and got to her knees. She flung one leg across his lap and straddled him, her hands reaching up to play with the collar of his shirt.

"Maybe you should," he replied thickly before pressing his mouth against hers firmly. Their tongues wound together instantly and she sighed heavily as his hands ran over her behind. She ground herself against him and felt his hardness begin to swell between her legs. She continued to grind, building up a rhythm and sighing in pleasure at how wonderful it felt until she frowned in confusion when he stopped her and slightly pushed her away. "Mmmmm, what's wrong," she mumbled against his lips. She pulled back and felt her breath catch at the look on his face.

Paul sighed deeply. This was it. He was going to tell her. He cupped her cheek with one hand and rubbed her thigh with the other. He had to get this out before things went any further and he lost his nerve. "Nothing's wrong I just….I need to tell you something."

Stephanie felt her chest grow tight as she sensed what was coming next. No. No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. She prayed that he didn't say what she thought he was about to say because she couldn't lie to him. If he said it she knew she would say it back. "Paul….."

"Just let me get this out, OK?" He interrupted, his hand gently caressing her smooth cheek. His eyes dropped to the floor for a second before he took another deep breath and looked her right in the eye. "Stephanie I…..I'm in love with you. I…..fuck….I never intended for this to happen but I can't help myself. I can't stop thinking about you, Steph. And when I look at you I just…..get this feeling in my chest, in my heart. I've never loved anybody before but I know that I love you because I feel it every time we touch, I…" He stopped when she pressed her fingers over his mouth.

Her eyes were teary as she grabbed his face and gazed longingly into his eyes. She had well and truly transported into another world. "I love you too, Paul. I love you so much."

The smile that graced his face was enough to light up the city and he quickly pulled her to him and kissed her passionately, trying to convey every ounce of emotion into his kiss. She responded in kind, her tongue battling with his as they rolled together over and over. Her hands came to rest on his shirt and she began to undo the buttons. As his hands rubbed at her thighs she began to lose all measure of control. She needed him. She needed to feel him. She needed him to make love to her. Quickly she worked through the buttons until the shirt was flung on the floor and her hands began to work on his belt buckle. It clanked in the otherwise quiet room and she moaned when she felt his tongue nipping at her ear. He had made quick work of her blouse which had joined his shirt on the floor and he hastily undid her bra, his hands instantly working over her full breasts.

"Oh God, Paul," she sighed heavily as she gripped his face with one hand while the other dipped into his pants. "I need you."

He groaned at the feel of her hot hand wrapped around him. She was literally heaving on top of him and it was driving him crazy. Wrapping his arms tight around her waist, he got to his feet and lay her down on the sofa. He kicked his pants to the side and pushed his boxers down and off too before gently lowering himself on top of her and staking claim to her swollen mouth once more. His hands travelled to her pants which were instantly strewn to the floor along with her thong which quickly followed. In no time they were both pressed tightly together, bodies heaving and hearts full as his fingers worked her the only way he knew how.

He could feel that she was getting close. Her body was writhing against his hand, her eyes closed tightly as she moaned his name. He felt his chest grow tight. He couldn't stop himself as he brought his face close and kissed her endlessly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back just as desperately. When they were forced to break away for air he pressed his forehead to hers and softly removed his fingers from her. His eyes were staring right through her as he positioned himself over her entry and gently slid home. They both cried out at the sensation and he held still, his gaze still locked on hers. "I love you," he whispered sincerely as he began to move, pulling himself out before pushing back in causing them both to cry out again. "Fuck, Steph, I love you," he whispered again. She grabbed his face and bit on his lower lip as she ground herself up at him. The pleasure was almost too much to bear when they were usually together but this was something else entirely. Hearing him say those words while he was buried deeply inside of her was too much. She found herself bucking against him desperately; she wanted to pull him right through her if she could. "I love you too," she moaned against his mouth. "Make love to me, Paul…..show me….." she couldn't utter another word as he began to pick up the pace, his rock hard member reaching places no other man could reach. With every thrust he worked his way even further into her heart. All too soon their hips were pushing at each other in wanton abandon as they desperately tried to reach their climax. Her hands were clawing at his back while she cried his name loudly. She never wanted him to stop. Nothing ever felt this good.

Paul swallowed hard. He could feel the sweat dripping down his back and he continued to drive himself into her over and over. His chest felt like it was going to burst. He thought it was intense between them before but this was unbelievable. Actually saying the words out loud had enabled them to express their love in ways they obviously hadn't been able to do before. And by God he couldn't get enough of her. He felt himself getting closer and closer. Her walls were gripping him tightly, her breasts pressed against his chest as their bodies slid together. He reached down and palmed her ass continuing his deep thrusts. She began to quiver around him and almost instantly he felt his body lose control. He began to push into her wildly. She was almost screaming at him as she bucked her hips back just as hard. The orgasm hit her full force and she gripped his shoulders tightly as she came, her body completely overwhelmed by the force of their passion. Paul groaned loudly and gripped her hips as he emptied into her. Jesus. He felt like he had just had an out of body experience. He collapsed onto her chest and breathed heavily. She lazily ran her fingers through his damp hair and reveled in the aftermath. She could still feel him pulsing inside of her and it felt incredible.

"Stay," he hushed against her neck. "Stay with me tonight." He softly pulled himself from her and moved up to cuddle her properly. He kissed her languidly, their tongues rolling together slowly, both too drained for anything requiring more effort. It was a slow yet passionate kiss and one that sent her head reeling. Before she even knew what she was doing her hands were threading through his hair and she was mumbling, "Yes," against his lips. "Yes," she murmured with a gentle smile as she continued to get lost in him completely. It finally happened. They were in love with each other and at this point, she didn't know if she could make the 'right' decision. This was where she belonged; being in his arms was what was right. All she had to do was follow her heart. The only problem was whether or not she had the courage to do it.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N** - I'm sorry for taking so long to get an update for this. But I'm back and will hopefully crank another one out soon!

* * *

Stephanie anxiously pushed her way through the throng of people at the front of the café. Finally spotting who she was looking for, she instantly made her way to the small table and sat down with a heavy sigh. "Thank you for coming on such short notice, Liz."

Elizabeth Greene took one look at her best friend's haggard appearance and swallowed hard. She had received an urgent phone call early this morning with Stephanie practically begging her to meet for coffee. Almost two hours later and here they were. If she was concerned by the phone call alone, her friend's demeanor right now was setting red flags off everywhere. She pushed the mug of black coffee towards her cautiously. "Stephanie what's going on? Is everything OK?"

"I…Liz…I've got myself into something here…I need your help," Stephanie stuttered. Taking a deep breath, she took a long pull of the hot black liquid in her cup and tried her best so steady her nerves before looking her friend in the eye and jumping in with both feet. "I need you to lie for me."

"Lie for you? Steph, what the hell is going on? I don't unders….."

"I'm having an affair."

Everything quickly fell silent as Stephanie's hastily uttered words hung in the air. Liz's eyes grew wide with shock. Of all the things she could have imagined this was about, that had been at the very bottom of her list. She shook her head in confusion. "Wh….what? You're having an affair? Steph?"

Stephanie ran her hand over her face and sighed. There was no going back now. "I'm having an affair, I don't know what the hell I'm doing anymore, I spent the night at Paul's place last night instead of going home and I need you to cover for me so that when Robert asks, I have something to tell him. Liz please, I'm begging you. I just…..I don't know what's up or down anymore….I…"

"Just slow down, OK?" Liz said, reaching across the table and covering her friend's shaking hands with her own. "Can we start from the beginning here? Who's Paul?"

"He's…Paul," Stephanie muttered after a few seconds. She wasn't quite sure what to call him. "He's him, he's the one I'm…with when I'm not with Robert." Jesus this was hard to talk about.

Liz nodded her head. "Alright. And how did this all start?" She was holding back her judgment until she heard the whole story.

"I…you know that Robert and I were constantly fighting a few months back. Well, during one of our fights I left the house in a fury. I was _so_ angry at him. I just had to get away. I ended up at some bar and well, he was there. Paul was there. It all happened so fast. One minute we were at the bar and the next we were in his apartment…"she trailed off, losing herself in the memory for a few seconds. "I told Robert that I stayed with my parents when I got home the next day. I don't think he believed me. He practically accused me of sleeping around on him. I couldn't believe that he thought that of me, you know? But then I remembered that I had actually done it and…I slapped him in a rage and stormed out again. I didn't know where to go so….I went to his place. We slept together again." She dropped her head and closed her eyes. She couldn't even look at Liz for fear of being judged. But when she raised her head and they locked eyes again, judgment was the last thing she saw.

"It's OK, Steph. I'm here to listen and I want to help you through this. That's what friends are for, right?" she half smiled.

Her friend's words encouraged her on and over the next half hour or so, Stephanie spilled her guts, telling every single thing that had happened and how she was literally torn in half over what to do.

"And you really love this guy?" Liz asked. She was still slightly in shock at everything she had been told. But she could clearly see how cut up Stephanie was over the whole thing. And by the sounds of it, this was more than just some fling. There seemed to be some serious feelings involved.

Stephanie looked the other woman dead in the eye and with absolute certainty in her heart, nodded her head. "I do. I'm completely in love with him. Last night…..Liz, I can't even put it into words. I don't think I've ever felt anything like it before. Not even with Robert. Paul just makes me feel…..like I can do anything. Every time I look at him I feel a catch in my throat. When he kisses me everything just melts away." She took a moment before a small chuckle escaped. "Listen to me. I sound like a love sick school girl for Christ sake!

"So what?" Liz asked. There was no doubt in her mind that this was definitely more than a fling now. Hearing Stephanie speak about this Paul guy like that, well, it left no room for doubt. "So what if you feel like a school girl again, Stephanie? You love him. And from the way you're talking he clearly loves you. You're not in love with Robert anymore. I see only one option here."

"I wish it was that simple," Stephanie sighed. "It all comes down to one thing, Liz. Jenny," she said simply. "I can't hurt her and I know that if Robert and I were to split it would tear her up. I can't do that to her." As she spoke about her daughter, she felt her eyes starting to water. A few tears spilled down her cheeks as the gravity of the situation fell full force on her shoulders. She was so fucking torn.

Liz looked at the despair on Stephanie's face and sighed heavily. She didn't really know what to tell her. But whatever she needed her to do she would do it. She'd do whatever it took for her friend to figure this mess out. Shuffling her chair closer, she wrapped her arm around the other woman's shoulders and tugged her close. "Steph, this isn't an easy decision. But you have to know that the longer you wait the worse it's going to get. You can't keep stringing Paul along or he's going to eventually give up. And you can't keep doing the same to Robert. He deserves to know what's going on."

"I know. I'm just afraid. I don't know what the right decision is, Liz. What if I screw up? What if I choose Paul, throw my marriage away and he leaves me? What then? I will have destroyed everything and for what? A couple of months with some guy who strung me along for fun?"

"That's the risk involved, Steph. For the record, if everything has gone down the way you told me it has, I don't think he has any plans to run. And what if you choose to stay with Robert? What if you end up resenting him so much because he's standing in the way of what you really want and it ends up destroying your marriage anyway? The truth is, nothing's ever going to be the same for you Steph and personally, I feel that if you stay with Robert you'll be settling." Liz ignored the momentary flare of anger that crossed Stephanie face and waved it off. "What? You _will_ be settling and I've never known you to settle for anything. I guess it all comes down to whether you're willing to risk it all to get what you want."

Stephanie let those words sink in for a few moments. Was she willing to risk it all? Was she willing to end her marriage and tear her daughter apart so she could be with the man she loved? And what about Jenny? What if she and Paul didn't get along? He didn't even know she had a daughter yet. That just might change everything. God damn her head was thumping. "I just don't know."

"Well, you don't have to decide right now but just know that I'm here for you. Now, what do you need me to do?"

* * *

She had been staring at the phone for a good five minutes now. Outside her office people were just going about their day. She wished her life was that normal and uncomplicated again. Taking a deep breath, she hit the speed dial for her husband's cell phone and slowly let it out.

"Stephanie? Where the hell have you been? I've been worried sick! Where the hell are you?"

"I'm so sorry, honey. Yesterday I got a call from Liz. She….she just had a massive fight with her husband and she needed me there. I went right over. She was in such a state. I never got the chance to call home. I'm so sorry you were worried." She heard his deep breathing down the line for a few seconds before he spoke and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn. I had no idea but fucking hell, Stephanie. You almost gave me a coronary when you didn't come home. I was on the phone to your parents and everything."

She suddenly gulped hard. Fuck. "You called my parents?"

"Yeah. I thought you might have stayed there. You went to them before when we….when we had that big fight. I thought that maybe, well, that maybe I had done something to piss you off again," he said softly, the worry creeping through in his uncertain tone.

Stephanie suddenly felt sick, completely ignoring the implications of his call to her parents and more specifically, her mother. For the second time she had been with Paul and had somehow made her husband feel like he had done something wrong. She felt the tears welling in her eyes and swiftly wiped them away. "No, Robert. This….this has nothing to do with us," she managed to get out, absolutely hating herself in the process. She didn't know how much longer she could keep lying to him like this. It was killing her. "We're good."

Robert sighed happily and let out a deep breath. "Thank God. I was so worried. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you, Stephanie. I'm just glad you're alright."

"I'm fine," she whispered, this time unable to stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. "I guess I'll see you when I get home."

"Sure. I love you baby."

Her breath hitched in her throat as she told possibly the biggest lie of them all. "I love you too. Bye." She set the phone back into the holder and gripped her hair tightly as she cried. She honestly couldn't do this anymore. And she didn't know what to do, didn't know who to choose or what choice to make. Her head was splitting. Suddenly the phone buzzed signaling an inter-office call. She quickly swiped at her tears and cleared her throat before picking up.

"Mr. Parks is here to see you, Stephanie."

"Thanks, Diane. Send him in in five minutes," she answered her secretary. She had some serious shit to deal with when she got home later tonight. But for now she could bury herself in work and forget.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N** - My apologies for the long wait with this one but I finally got it sorted. Things are coming to the end here with a handful of chapters left at the most so stay tuned!

* * *

Paul braced himself against the cold wind and pulled his jacket tighter around his body. He pulled the heavy wooden door of the rather seedy looking bar open and walked inside, his shoulders loosening up a little as a nice gust of warm air swept over his face. Immediately spotting her over in the far corner, he made a start for the table and couldn't stop the smile from crossing his face when she looked up at him. Damn she was beautiful. Every time he saw her she managed to take his breath away. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought that picking her up that night would have resulted in all this. He'd never felt anything this strong for a woman before. Never. But he just knew in his heart that she was different. Dare he say it, but she most likely was it for him. Finally reaching the side of the table, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, his senses instantly attune to her scent and touch as he tugged off his coat and flung it into the corner of the booth. He took a seat opposite her and reached for her hands across the hard wood, entwining their fingers when she offered them to him. "Hey," he smiled, a genuine little grin on his face. They hadn't seen each other since that day in his apartment a little over a week ago. Pulling one hand to his mouth, he pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Stephanie admitted with a sigh. Why was he making this so hard? God damn her stupid heart for falling for him. If she had been able to keep this thing strictly about sex then she wouldn't have let emotions get involved and she wouldn't be in this fucking mess right now. But the feeling that tingled throughout her body as he gazed into her eyes told her that any possible heartache would be worth it. It was this that she didn't know she could walk away from. The way he was looking at her right now made her feel like the only and most important person in the world. How could she throw that away? How could she when it was what she desperately wanted?

"So, you just going to sit there and stare at me all night?" he teased, noticing the slightly dreamy expression on her face.

Stephanie lightly thumped his hand off the table. "No, I'm not going to just sit and stare at you all night. Sorry to burst your bubble."

"Hey, that's absolutely fine with me. You see, I could think of plenty of other things you could be doing to me all night. Much more, hands on activities, you know?"

His cheeky grin was enough to put her at ease and she momentarily forgot why she had asked him here. "Such as?"

"Such as?" he asked incredulously, his eyes growing wide in mock surprise. "Well I would have thought that you would know by now. You, me, my apartment, my bed. Hell, even my sofa, my floor, my shower, my walls, wherever! It doesn't matter so long as there's a lot of heavy breathing going on," he laughed for a moment or two but suddenly stopped at the upset look that crossed her face. "Steph?"

His apartment. His bed. Those two things were the very reasons why she had asked him to the bar tonight. The last time she tried to end things between them they had ended up professing their love for one another and then making love until the wee hours of the morning. She couldn't risk that again, not when she had made up her mind and wanted to go through with it. Here, in public, the risk of her falling into his bed again was minimal at best. "Paul, I….I didn't bring you here for this."

"What did you bring me here for then?" he asked, his grip on her hands loosening and his voice growing thick. He didn't like the sound of this at all.

Stephanie stared at the table for a moment or two before taking a deep breath and looking him in the eye. It took everything she had to ignore the already broken look on his face. "To end it. I just can't do this anymore, Paul. Every time I go home I'm walking on eggshells, every time I look at my husband I feel like a heartless bitch. When we sleep together I lie there wishing it was you and I just can't….I can't go on like this, it's killing me."

The second she opened her mouth he felt his heart drop. Hearing her talk about sleeping with her husband actually made him feel sick. How could she even think about this after what had happened between them the last time they were together? But here she was, staring him right in the face and breaking his heart.

"You don't mean that, Steph. I know you don't," he said lowly.

"Dammit, Paul! Just stop, ok!" she half exploded, throwing his hands away and covering her face. She could see the hurt in his eyes and it was killing her but she had to do this. For the sake of her daughter she had to do it.

At her outburst he felt his anger begin to surface. "Stop what? Telling you the truth? For fuck sakes, Steph! After everything, after what you told me the other day and after what I told you, you're still trying to resist? I don't believe you. I know you love me, Stephanie and you're kidding yourself if you don't."

"Paul…" she trailed off for a few moments in order to get back the strength she had come here with for it was certainly starting to crumble. Then she remembered Jenny and felt her walls go back up again. "This isn't just about us."

"Oh that's right, it's about your husband who you care so much about that you're currently sitting here with me," he said sarcastically, not quite believing they were going over this again.

"I have a daughter."

Those four words stopped him in his tracks. He quickly swallowed hard and looked at her in shock. "You have a daughter?"

She could only nod her head as the tears began to form in her eyes. Maybe now he would see that this wasn't as black and white as he thought it was. As she looked at his stoic face, she knew the gravity of the situation was starting to sink in.

"I don't…I don't know what to say," he stammered as if he were talking to himself. "I guess…this changes everything."

"It does," she breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Her heart felt like it was literally ripping in half at the devastated look on his face. "And it's why I've been acting the way I have. I know that, were it just a choice between you and Robert that I'd choose you. I love you, Paul, I want you to understand that because I really do love you." Her voice hitched towards the end as she began to cry. "I love you so much and that's why this is so fucking hard. But I have my daughter to think about and I can't just walk away from her. I love her too. She's everything to me and I can't risk…."

Paul reached across the table and took her hand again whilst raising her head with the other. He looked deep into her eyes and saw that she was just as cut up about this as he was. "You can't risk hurting her, I get it. You love me you just….love her more."

"That's not what I….."

"It's OK, really, it's OK. Well, it isn't OK but…" he said with a sigh. He actually couldn't believe this was happening. He had finally found the woman he wanted to grow old with and in a cruel twist of fate, he would never get to have her. "Jesus," he half laughed. "Did you ever imagine we'd be sitting here discussing this that first night we met? I mean, all I saw was an incredibly hot woman who I wanted to bed, that was it. But then when we actually slept together, it felt different. It felt…"

"Special," she finished for him, feeling her heart break all over again. God, this was unbearable. She had to get out of here, had to walk away before she lost the strength to do it.

Paul brought her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. "You're special. I….fucking hell this is hard," his voice cracked and he blinked his eyes a few times. "I don't want you to go but I don't want you to be with me if it isn't what you want."

"I do want to be with you, Paul. When we were in Chicago I felt like we were the only two people in the entire city. In an ideal world…" she pulled up short, stopping herself from dreaming. "But it isn't an ideal world. I have a daughter and a husband. I owe it to them to…"

"Stop," he held up his hand to silence her. If this was their last night together he didn't want to spend it like this. "Come back to my place. I want to spend this time with you alone."

She let out a desperate sigh. "Paul please don't ask me to do that, I can't!"

"You can. Please, just give me one last night with you, Stephanie. I want to remember everything about you." He ran his hand over her hair, her temple, her cheek and then finally his thumb over her bottom lip. They stared at each other for a few moments, neither saying a word but instead getting sucked in by that magnetic pull they were never able to fight. He slowly leaned down and pressed his lips gently to hers. He held them there until he couldn't fight the urge anymore. On cue she opened her mouth and their tongues tangled together endlessly. He cupped the side of her face and kissed her passionately and she helplessly responded in kind, kissing him like it was the last time she would ever feel his lips. In a way, it was. When they could no longer breathe they pulled apart.

She could feel his warm breath on her face and swallowed hard, knowing that if he asked again, she wouldn't be able to say no. She wanted him, she always would no matter what happened going forward.

"Come back with me, baby. No strings," he hushed against her cheek as he nuzzled her face. When he heard her moan, "Yes," into his ear it was all he needed. He gently grabbed her hand and led her out of the bar.

* * *

Later that night as the stars mixed with the bright city lights to sparkle in the sky, Stephanie wiped the tears from her eyes. They had made love for what felt like forever yet it would never be enough. She literally felt empty without him. She pressed a kiss to her fingers before leaning over and placing them over his slightly parted lips. He lay before her on the bed, his arm lying on her side as if it were still draped around her body and holding her close. Her heart ached to get back in and show him how much she loved him all over again but she couldn't. It was time. With one last longing look of love and heartache, she finally turned and crept towards the door. A part of her would always be here with him, she knew that. She loved him too much to forget. But she believed in her heart that leaving was the right thing to do, for Jenny. As her daughter's image floated throughout her mind, she took a deep breath and with every ounce of will power she had, opened the door and walked away.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N** - Well! Long time no post regarding this one lol. It's partly because I had some writers block to overcome and partly because I've been a little unsure of what I was doing tbh. But I figured it all out. This update comes with some bad news in that this is the final chapter, boooooo! I want to thank you all for sticking with this and a special shout out goes to **LaceNLeather24** who's very recent review inspired me to just sit down and get this darn thing done. So thank you **LaceNLeather24** and everybody else that has constantly bugged me to keep writing. Your messages and reviews etc really mean a lot to me and really do make me want to crack on and get writing which is exactly what happened here. So once again, thank you all so much and here's a little spoiler for you...there will be a sequel entitled '_Stranger No More_' Dun, dun, dun! Enjoy folks and thanks a million!

* * *

He woke suddenly, his hand shooting across the barren space on the bed beside him. He'd had a dream, more like a nightmare actually. He was standing in an empty void, his hand desperately reaching out for…something. He couldn't quite make out what although in his heart he knew what it represented. He was reaching for Stephanie yet she wasn't there. She was gone. Rolling to his back, his eyes swept over the empty room and the reality of the situation hit him like a smack in the face. She _was_ gone. This had to be the second or third time she had snuck away in the middle of the night but this time he knew she wasn't coming back and there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't pick her up for a what was supposed to be a mindless fuck like he did the first time they met, he couldn't enrage her into sleeping with him again like he did in the beginning of their relationship, if you could even call it that and he couldn't make her fall into bed with him with his loving touch like he did just a few hours ago. They were done. Over. He hadn't felt more alone in his entire life. His chest grew tight and as he angrily thumped the messy sheets next to him, it sent the faintest of wafts of an all too familiar perfume floating under his nose. Jesus. It was her. It was Stephanie. He inhaled deeply and felt the tears sting the backs of his eyes.

"Fuck," he muttered to himself, feeling all sorts of ridiculous. He didn't cry. He was a grown fucking man for Christ sakes. He could have any woman he wanted if he put his mind to it. But in a cruel twist of fate, the one woman he did want had walked away. That ate at his gut like nothing before. He wasn't used to losing. Not that he thought of this as some sort of game, oh no. It stopped being a game the second he looked into her eyes and felt a flutter in his chest instead of a stirring in his pants. But he really had expected her to leave her husband and be with him. How could she not given the way she made love to him? She abandoned herself completely to his touch. He swore he felt the currents of electricity flowing from one of them into the other with every passionate thrust and expression of love. It was beyond anything he had ever experienced in his life before. They just fit and perfectly together if you asked him. Unfortunately there was something that didn't fit. He sighed heavily and wiped a hand over his weary face. How in the fuck could she have kept something so big hidden from him? How could she not tell him that she had a kid? The memory of last night in the bar came flooding back to him.

_"What did you bring me here for then?" he asked, his grip on her hands loosening and his voice growing thick. He didn't like the sound of this at all._

_Stephanie stared at the table for a moment or two before taking a deep breath and looking him in the eye. It took everything she had to ignore the already broken look on his face. "To end it. I just can't do this anymore, Paul. Every time I go home I'm walking on eggshells, every time I look at my husband I feel like a heartless bitch. When we sleep together I lie there wishing it was you and I just can't….I can't go on like this, it's killing me."_

_The second she opened her mouth he felt his heart drop. Hearing her talk about sleeping with her husband actually made him feel sick. How could she even think about this after what had happened between them the last time they were together? But here she was, staring him right in the face and breaking his heart._

_"You don't mean that, Steph. I know you don't," he said lowly._

_"Dammit, Paul! Just stop, ok!" she half exploded, throwing his hands away and covering her face. She could see the hurt in his eyes and it was killing her but she had to do this. For the sake of her daughter she had to do it._

_At her outburst he felt his anger begin to surface. "Stop what? Telling you the truth? For fuck sakes, Steph! After everything, after what you told me the other day and after what I told you, you're still trying to resist? I don't believe you. I know you love me, Stephanie and you're kidding yourself if you don't."_

_"Paul…" she trailed off for a few moments in order to get back the strength she had come here with for it was certainly starting to crumble. Then she remembered Jenny and felt her walls go back up again. "This isn't just about us."_

_"Oh that's right, it's about your husband who you care so much about that you're currently sitting here with me," he said sarcastically, not quite believing they were going over this again._

_"I have a daughter."_

I have a daughter. Four simple words that almost killed him. He was still pretty shell shocked over that not so little admission. It simply made things too complicated. Or did it? Feeling a sudden rush of anger surge throughout his body, he threw the covers off and stood up in search of some clothes.

"Like hell it's too fucking complicated," he said out loud as he angrily tugged up his jeans and did the button and belt buckle. She had run at the first sign of trouble. Well, he wasn't going to let her. "Fucking idiot!" He couldn't believe he had been so foolish last night. Yeah, her having a kid was a bit of an obstacle but he loved her and he knew she loved him back. They could make it work. He just had to make her see that. Pulling a t shirt and jacket from the back of the large chair in the room, he quickly put them on and running a hand through his hair, made for the door. He couldn't let her walk away, he just couldn't. Not when he needed her this much.

* * *

"Come on, mommy! You're keeping us late!" yelled Jenny as she impatiently held on to her father's hand. When he had collected her from school instead of the nanny and told her that they were going to get mommy from work and go to the park together, well, she had been excited beyond belief. She wasn't stupid. She knew some adult stuff was going on with her parents and she was going to use this opportunity to get them to be happy again. Her face lit up when her mother finally reached the pair and she smiled delightedly at the kiss her parents shared.

"I am not keeping you late, missy! We're only going to the park," Stephanie replied with a ruffle of her soft hair.

"Yeah, but I wanna play so come on!"

Both parents laughed as their daughter took a hand each and started dragging them down the street on the short walk to the park across from Stephanie's office. Robert looked at his wife and felt at ease upon seeing the carefree expression on her face. She didn't look tense or worried or even bored as she had these past few months. Being so detached from her had almost killed him. It had even reached the point where he thought that she didn't even love him anymore, she was so distant. He thanked the lord that that seemed to be over now. She had been happy and affectionate all day and right now she seemed perfectly content. With a smile on his face he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, then her lips when she turned around to face him. When they broke apart his heart warmed when he saw that she was smiling back at him. Everything was going to be alright, he just knew it.

Stephanie smiled at her husband. She seemed to be doing a great job of it too because inside she was dying. Her heart was breaking over what had happened this morning. Leaving Paul had been the hardest thing she had ever done. She physically ached for him and to know that she would never see him or feel his touch again tore through her like a knife. But she had to do it. If she wanted any chance of her daughter coming out of this whole thing unscathed then she had to sacrifice to make it happen. In time, she hoped and prayed that she would eventually get over him. She believed that she would. She simply had to otherwise she would fall apart. Clutching Robert's hand a little tighter, she walked with her family to the park located across the street from her office. Spying a bench off of to the left, she took a seat with her husband while Jenny ran off to play with the other children and fought back every urge in her body that was trying to relive the moments spent on this very bench with somebody else. It was here that he had asked if he could go to Chicago with her and it was at that point that she truly felt things had changed between them. Those few days away had been heaven. She would give anything to live her life like that, anything but her beautiful daughter who she loved more than anything in the world. She couldn't lose Jenny over this, not over anything. But at the same time, she really didn't know how she was going to cope without Paul. It hadn't even been a day yet and already it felt like a lifetime. She felt Robert's thumb stroke over her knuckles and turned to look into his expectant eyes. They were shining back at her and she instantly felt that familiar pang of guilt. Once again she was off in Paul world. Well from now on she had to start living in reality again. It was the only way her heart was going to survive this God awful mess she had gotten into.

* * *

Paul walked briskly through the park ignoring everybody and everything in his way. He had one thing on his mind and he wasn't going home without her. He didn't know how he could have been so fucking stupid last night. It was probably the shock of it all really. He had played the gentlemen and dutifully stepped aside without her even asking him to. But that had all changed when he woke up alone this morning. He didn't want to wake up without her ever again. So what if she had a daughter? They could make it work. Hell, he liked kids and wanted to have some of his own one day. He couldn't see himself having children with anyone else but Stephanie. That's why he was on his way to her office right now and that's why he was prepared to fight for what he wanted, what he needed. He stepped around an elderly couple and came into the clearing. On one side was a small play area that was full of kids running around and playing. On the other side was a row of benches. A lump formed at the back of his throat as the memory came back to him but it only lasted a fleeting second for as soon as his eyes glanced upon a specific bench, his heart stopped beating. There she was looking as breathtaking as ever…but she wasn't alone.

"Shit," Paul whispered, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. She was sitting there holding the hand of a brown haired man and smiling like she hadn't a care in the world. His head began to spin and a sudden rush of sickness enveloped his stomach. It only grew worse as he watched a young girl sprint from the bottom of the slide over to the bench. His feet had a mind of their own as he began to walk closer before coming to a sudden stop. The young girl's long brown hair and pretty face looked eerily similar to the woman perched on the edge of the bench right now. He couldn't do this. The girl suddenly ran away squealing in delight as the man chased after her leaving Stephanie alone. Paul watched her closely. Her eyes were trained on her husband and daughter. There was a hint of a smile on her lips and in that moment he knew that he simply couldn't do this.

_"Mommy! Come and play!"_

Stephanie sat for a moment and closed her eyes. She had the brief feeling that she was being watched for a few moments there. But shaking it off she playfully rolled her eyes and got up from the bench to join in the chase.

Paul watched the whole thing unfold. He choked back the tears seriously threatening to spill down his cheeks and did something he never thought he would do. With one final look, he turned around and walked away. It wasn't until he saw it in front of him that it fully sank in. Her husband wasn't some nameless faceless stranger he could pretend didn't exist. He was right there in front of him. Her daughter wasn't some bump in the road they could simply bypass. She was very much real. He knew he had to walk away. What he wanted wasn't important. She had made her choice and she didn't choose him. He simply had to accept it and move on no matter how much it tore him up inside. Flicking the collar of his jacket up around his neck, Paul wiped at his eyes and walked back the way he came, nodding politely at the same elderly couple he had stepped around a few minutes before as they sat on a bench to his right. Life went on. He was a fool to think he ever could have had her in the first place. It was only a fling after all. He told himself that sex didn't equal a relationship. It never would have worked out. As quickly as he had come into her life, he left it. He was nothing to her now, a mere stranger passing by in the park, just as she was to him. It was over.


End file.
